Challenges

Book Review: Serpent’s Kiss (The Beauchamp Family, #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

The intriguing Beauchamp family, introduced in the New York Times bestselling Witches of East End, returns in Serpent’s Kiss, with dizzying plot twists and spellbinding magic. Joanna and her daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild-child Freya, are just settling into the newfound peace that has been cast over their small, off-the map town of North Hampton. With the centuries-old restriction against practicing magic lifted, casting spells, mixing potions, and curing troubled souls has never felt so good for the three witches. That is, until everything gets turned upside down–from Joanna’s organized kitchen to Ingrid’s previously nonexistent love life to Freya’s once unshakeable faith in her sexy soul mate, Killian Gardiner. When Freya’s twin brother, Freddie, suddenly returns, escaped from Limbo and professing innocence on a long-ago crime, Freya should be ecstatic. The golden boy can do no wrong. Or can he? Freddie blames no other than her fiancÉ Killian for his downfall, and enlists Freya’s help to prove it. Now Freya doesn’t know who to believe or trust. And for the first time in–well, forever, really–Ingrid is also busy in love. Matt Noble, the handsome and charming police detective, has won her heart. But can romance work between a virgin witch and a mortal who doesn’t believe in magic? Things get even more complicated when it appears Ingrid is harboring the prime suspects in Matt’s police investigation. To add to the chaos, a dead spirit is attempting to make contact with Joanna–but does it mean to bring harm or help? Joanna asks her sort-of ex-husband Norman to help figure it out, only to accidentally invite him to a Thanksgiving dinner with a dapper gentleman she’s recently begun dating. As the witches pull together to discover the serpent within their midst and the culprit behind Freddie’s imprisonment, everything is thrown into peril. Will the discovery come too late to save those they love most? Melissa de la Cruz weaves all this and more in a blockbuster sequel that is not to be missed by her fans, and one that is sure to enchant new readers of the series.

I had such high hopes for this book because I really loved the first one. However for me Serpent’s kiss just kind of fell short of what I would have expected. The story gets convoluted with just to much going on around it. There were to many sub plots that did not really get hashed or fleshed out enough to really hold my interest. I love a book that has a lot going on, but there is such a thing as to much going on especially when none of it seems to form fully.

So while on some levels it was nice to spend some time with the North Hampton girls again overall this one just kind of left me feeling dissapointed and a little bit cold that had nothing to do with the chilly weather.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #7) by Laurell K. Hamilton

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“You can’t trust anyone who sleeps with the monsters.”

That’s what I’ve always said. That’s what I’ve always believed. But now I’m the one sharing a bed with the Master Vampire of the City. Me, Anita Blake. The woman the vampires call the Executioner. From part of the solution, I’ve become part of the problem. So it hits close to home when an arsonist begins to target vampire-owned businesses all over town — an arsonist who seems to want to destroy more than just property. It’s the monsters who are in danger now. And it’s up the the Executioner to save them from the inferno..

I think if I was Anita I would decide to run away and never return with how much her ass is usually up in alligators. That happens to be the case again in Burnt offerings, and what is worse is that of course her and Jean Claude are at odds with Richard. Not to mention that when the council comes to town they make things even worse on Anita and her gang. So what do you do when the chips are down? Dress up and fight back with a lot of ammo and everything else.

I really enjoyed this installment of the Anita Blake series and I have to say it is the first one that really really made me say OH YEAH this is why I am reading it. We see such a nice variety of vampires that can all do different things. Some are monsters, some appear to be monsters and are not and some are just pretty decent. I give this one a big recommend.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Lost in Time (Blue Bloods #6) by Melissa de la Cruz

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The stakes have never been higher for the young Blue Bloods of Manhattan. After their brief yet beautiful bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force depart for Egypt, desperate to find the elusive Gate of Promise before Jack must face his twin, Mimi, for a blood trial. A blood trial that only one of them can survive. But everything Schuyler thought she knew about the gate turns out to be a lie, and they soon find themselves ensnared in a deadly battle against the demon-born. Schuyler and Jack take up arms, only to realize that there is a much graver threat simmering in the Kingdom of the Dead.

Meanwhile, determined to save the only vampire she still loves, Mimi has followed Kingsley Martin into Hell. With the help of her new human Conduit, Oliver Hazard-Perry, Mimi makes a bargain with the Queen of the Dead that she may soon regret. When the time comes to choose between love and revenge, both Mimi and Oliver will learn the true meaning of sacrifice.

confronted by danger, betrayal, and loss at every turn, the Blue Bloods must find the will to fight – and love – another day

This one is much better then Bloody Valentine the Novella and I feel more on par with what is going on in the series again. So very good on that end of things. Some of it just seemed to drag a little and seemed like filler, but overall I enjoyed this this installment of the Blue Bloods novels. We are getting closer to the end game of finding the gates, having indeed found a gate to hell. I do hope we get to the other gate soon, the actual gate of promise or as is being hinted the gate to paradise.

Kingsley is back as well and there is a lot of very teenage go around with that between Mimi and him while Oliver just kind of hangs out and seems a little gullible. I wish they would make him the solid smart lad he was before. Overall a 4 rating because the story itself was enjoyable. It did not however keep me overly invested in the series other then the fact I have already invested so much time in it and I want to see what happens.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Destined (House of Night #9) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

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Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet – which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx’s gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father’s shadow…

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia’s handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there’s the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more – or possibly less – than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there’s something strangely familiar about him…

Will Neferet’s true nature be revealed before she succeeds in silencing them all? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox’s humanity in time to protect him – and everyone – from his own fate? Find out what’s destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

Okay in general I feel the last line of the book description is a little deceiving as we do not get to much into Aurox and his humanity, some yes more then when we first met him yes but it was not the entire crux of the story. That said I really enjoyed this installment of House of Night. I love the play and different views of characters and what we learn from them. My favorite part although it made me cry and cry a lot was that Dragon who I always enjoyed and wanted to get to know better redeemed himself from the path of being very close to darkness that he was going to walk.

Lenobia gets more of a story in this version as well and we slowly start to learn some more about the horse Mistress. I loved the action in this one but I really loved that we are branching out and getting to know some of the “secondary” and older characters within the book as well not just the teens. I am looking forward to the next installment.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Bloody Valentine (Blue Bloods #5.5) by Melissa de la Cruz

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The Blue Bloods have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shape-shift, and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even those immortal vampires, has total control. In Bloody Valentine, part of the best-selling Blue Bloods series, author Melissa de la Cruz offers three tantalizing stories that delve deep into the love lives of the all-powerful vamps (and their Red Blood friends) from New York’s Upper East Side. Might a witchy new girl help cure Oliver’s broken heart? How did Allegra fall in love with a human? Will Schuyler and Jack finally be bonded?

Romantic and sensual, Bloody Valentine reveals the undying love, the hope and devastation, and the lust and longing that have defined the Blue Bloods throughout history. Prepare to be swept off your feet.

Personally with this one I found that the description promised a lot and the writing did not deliver. It was all smashed in to fit the novella and a lot of what happened was just to fast and not very clear. There was also a pop in by a character from the Witches of East end that just kind of made my eyebrows go up a bit. I guess it does not seem completely off to tie your books together, but still.

So while it was not the worst thing I have ever read but it was not the greatest either. I think the author might have been better off putting it into the first chapters of the next book in the series. It was useful on some things, but other then just getting some loose ends taken care of.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #6) by Laurell K. Hamilton

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Dating both a vampire and a werewolf isn’t easy. But just to complicate Anita’s already messy life, someone has put a price on her head. Love cannot save her this time, so she turns to Edward, hitman extraordinaire, for help. But finding the person behind the threat won’t be easy, because as both a vampire hunter and zombie reanimator, Anita has made a lot of enemies-both human and otherwise.

FINALLY! FINALLY! She slept with one of them. In the interest of not giving away which one I won’t say since it is a spoiler, but FINALLY. This was a pretty good installment of the Anita Blake series,and I was not overly surprised at who put a price on her head. What I did appreciate and was surprised by was how far, Edward the friendly neighborhood assassin was willing to go to keep Anita safe. Looks like he has a heart in there somewhere. There was a lot of action in this one, as usual Anita was ass deep in alligators but I really enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed picturing the leather get up she got into when going with Richard to the pack. I know silly of me but Jean Claude really has much better fashion sense then Anita does. He is french after all, and fashion is one thing I will always give to the french.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Good Ghost Gone Bad by Janiera Eldridge

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Brianna Moreno was an average 22-year-old women who loved shopping, hanging out with her friends and making more career plans….until the night she was brutally and unexpectedly murdered.

Now she finds herself trapped in the ghost world while residing on earth. The problem is, her killer can see all of his ghostly victims and enjoys taunting them as much as he does killing them.Brianna soon finds out that her killer has horrible new plans concerning her family.

Brianna meets up with a few of her killer’s past victims to hatch a plan so terrifying, the entire town will never be the same again.

Brianna is a good ghost gone bad; the good girl side is gone forever!

*This book is not a YA read. It’s an 18+ only novella that features sex, strong language and strong violence.

This is the first ghost story I have read and a while and being that it is Halloween today I think it is a fitting time to have read it and be posting the review. Brianna Moreno is what I would call one bad ass ghost and her story is one that kept me pretty riveted from the get go. There were a few small things that did not seem to flow as nice as I would have liked them to here and there, but it did not draw me away from the story to much I have seen a lot worse for sure!

The story itself is solid, interesting and the result is one that made me cheer from where I was sitting and reading, but I won’t share it here because I do not want to give away any spoilers. If you like good paranormal in an adult setting this is going to be a book that you will enjoy I would recommend it.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods #5) by Melissa de la Cruz

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After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the five remaining gates that guard the earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silver Bloods.

Back in New York, Mimi has been elected Regent of a crumbling coven. Struggling with her heartache over the loss of Kingsley and with her overwhelming desire to destroy Jack, she must focus all of her energy on a perilous new threat. Vampires are being abducted and their captors are planning to burn them alive online…for all the world to see. Help arrives in the form of Deming Chen, a Venator from Shanghai, who must untangle the web of deceptions before the killers strike again.

As the young vampires struggle for the survival of the coven, they uncover a deadly secret, a truth first discovered by Schuyler’s mother during the Renaissance but kept buried for centuries. And as the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler to a terrible choice that will ultimately map the destiny of her heart

This is not the best book in the series. I really enjoy the Blue Bloods books overall but this one is just rather a snooze. I normally blaze through them and this one I had to make myself sit and focus to get it done. Now it had some good moments I liked the new Venarator that we met. However over all the plot was not really furthered by this one, and it seems like it was just kind of there.I did not love it I did not hate it, I really do hope the next one is better because otherwise I may not be able to finish the series.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Awakened (House of Night #8) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

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“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.

“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.

“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.

“She does.”

“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.

“Where are you going? What will happen next?”

“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

I can say this is one of those book series that makes me want to reach into the book grab a character by the neck and shake them, the one I want to shake is Neferet of course. She is no good and never likely will be, ever. I wish that Nyx would smite her or something! Alas even though she makes an appearance on the earth plane and all, she doesn’t free choice and all that. Still.

Zoey and Stark have heated things up and I am enjoying the relationship there, although I do not like some of the darkness and other things that crop up but I do not want to give to many spoilers away with that. And of course there is Stevie Rae, love her. Always will love her no matter what. Overall it is a good installment of the novels and I enjoyed the look of where things are going, we even got some more time with Heath and didn’t that take an interesting turn!

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood #6) by J.R. Ward

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In this “frighteningly addictive” paranormal romance saga there’s a war raging between vampires and their slayers. Here are the stories of a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now a dutiful twin must choose between two lives…

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood’s bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is obligated to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body, but his heart for herself. She is drawn to the noble responsibility behind the emotionally scarred male. But Phury has never allowed himself to know pleasure or joy. As the war with the Lessening Society grows grim, tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, and Phury must decide between duty and love….

Another great installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Watching Phury struggle not only with what he must do as Primale but his inner problems, and addictive demons made me laugh and cry and everything between. I know it was meant not to be funny but the fact that he picture his “wizard” or inner bad voice as a ring wraith made me giggle a bit and of course my inner geek cheered.

As with all of the books while it is based mostly on one Brother we get the stories twined together of others and the tracks laid for us for what is to come. We learn more of John Matthew and how he feels, and works with his friends. Also the big kicker Tohr is found and returned to the fold.

All in all a fantastic book with threads of story that wrap around you and make you remember them for later!

My Gemstone Rating:

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