Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Lux #2
366 p.
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: 8/14/12
Source: Library

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks… 

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems. 

Something worse than the Arum has come to town… 

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard. 

But then everything changes… 

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

My thoughts:

I have been wanting to get back to this series for some time now. I finally made a bit of time for it. I have to say though, it took me a while to really get into the book. The first half of the book was rehashing their "romance" but I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it is because it was so long after the first book or if it just didn't capture my attention.

Then the second half of the book came...

When Katy spies someone she shouldn't have seen I was totally into the story. I wanted to know more and I just couldn't put it down. The action and adventure after the half was what I wanted and what I was after, I think. I wasn't disappointed.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I recommend it to those that enjoy PNR YA and those that want to see a book blogger get the hot guy. ;)

Disobedience by Alvania Scarborough

Series: Harker's Hell #1
334 p.
Publisher: Silver Harbor Press
Published: 6/16/14
Source: Caffeinated Virtual Assistant Services for review.

Harker’s Hell. Early settlers thought they’d found a western re-creationist’s heaven. Instead, the new world is a hellish version of the Old West. Now the seeds of long-ago conflict are stirring to life.

Dissonance Walker believed she’d seen the worst life had to offer, only to find she’s dead wrong. Sold to a secret organization by her parents for the price of a new stove, her ability to disobey is ripped away by a brutal experiment. Determined to find the key to restore her freedom, she manages to escape her captors, only to end up in the worst place for a woman that can’t say no—on a saloon stage, ready to be sold to the highest bidder.

Bram Spencer is sure the heat has baked his brains. With his friend murdered and his ranch under attack, he needs to attend a little unfinished business. Buying some fool woman because she pokes at scabs he thought long healed, isn’t on the list. It’s bad enough he has to go through the fuss of rescuing her, now he discovers the only way to grant her freedom is to marry her. This is why he never plays the hero—no good deed goes unpunished.

Secrets have a long life. Sometimes decades. Now the sins of the past have returned, ready to collect their dues. Only trust can save Dissonance and Bram from a shocking evil… but trust is a hard commodity to come by on the frontier.

My thoughts:
This is a mash up of several genres. One is a western which is quite obvious. However, it is set on an alien planet, not earth. While this might sound confusing at first, it really isn't. In fact it reads more like an old western historical with alien parts thrown in for good measure. That made you pay more attention to the worldbuilding.

While I did like the interplay of genres, there was parts of a journal which started each chapter. It was about the founder and how the area became to be known as Harker's Hell. While I did like the added information, it really tended to confuse me. I didn't see how it played in the story until toward the end. Even then it has no conclusion and it appears to be the arc within the series. I think there will be more information as the series progresses. It does look like it continues on within the next book.

While that may have gave me pause, the story as a whole was fun to read. While I actually didn't like Bram at the beginning and even wanted his arse to be kicked throughout most of the novel, I actually melted when he realized he was causing Dissonance, the heroine, actual pain. When his understanding dawned and even though he had to go though one more arse kicking to "get it", when he did, he fully understood and became so kind and sweet to Dissonance. It was his kindness that really got to me. Yes, he had me as a fan in the end.

I give this book 4 stars. While I did find some of the worldbuilding a bit confusing I also felt it will have it's place as it builds within the series. What really shone in this book is the romance and how they truly came together. I recommend it to those that love a good fantasy romance.

Slightly Early Review: Icons (Icons #1) by Margaret Stohl

(slightly early...)

Your heart beats only with their permission. 

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting. 

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid. 

She's different. She survived. Why? 

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy. 

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths. 

Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future.

This was an interesting mix of genre. It was primarily dystopian but with a sci-fi flair. It's also written in a way you get hints of the immediate future but was also supposed to throw you off of any conclusions. I enjoyed the world, but I admit the parts ment to throw me actually helped me piece together what was coming as well as what was going on. So when the curtain was finally pulled back I was not surprised. However, I was entertained throughout the book.

One of my biggest pet peeves lately with the YA genre have been with the now tired cliché of the love triangle. Although the romance here is slight, it still presents itself with a triangle developing. In fact, this triangle develops, falls apart and then develops again. This was probably my least favorite part of the book. 

My second complaint was with the other characters of the book. We mostly seem to get Dolly (which makes sense because we follow her) and Lucas. I was actually VERY interested in Tima and wanted to know more about her. I would have also liked Ro to be fleshed out a bit more. He was a bit too one dimensional and I suspect he could surprise us with greater depth. However, this being book one in this series it wasn't a huge complaint. I'm willing to let the others unfold for me as the story is being told. 

In the end I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I recommend the book for those that enjoy a YA dystopian adventure. The book kept me interested and entertained and I do want to know if they will win in the end. Yep, I do want that next book. :)

I received this ARC from Little, Brown Books and no compensation for my review was given.

Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians #3) by Dianne Duvall

Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural.She knows immortals better than they know themselves, right down to their stubborn little genes. So although a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his ideas are daring. But it’s not his ideas that have Melanie fighting off surges of desire...

Bastien is used to being the bad guy. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he had an ally he could trust. But Melanie is different – and under her calm, professional exterior he senses a passion beyond anything in his centuries of experience. Giving in to temptation is out of the question – he can’t put her in danger. But she isn’t asking him...

Oh yes! One of my favorite vampire series is back! This time we get the story of Bastien. I really wanted this story. I mean it's the most annoying, cynical, obnoxious immortal of the bunch! How could I resist? I know wanting to alternately kick the guy's arse and simultaneously aww at his reluctant romance will get to you as well. Plus, Bastien has probably the biggest soft sides of all of them. He constantly worries about the ones he loves having problems because of their association with him. Can I get an awwww? ;)

Not only do we have the romance of Melanie and Bastien, but we also have a lot of action to keep us interested. In fact, these mercenaries they are up against might be human, but they are quite evil. They don't care who or what they have to destroy to obtain their goal. Even in the end I have to question the completeness of that evil. I suspect we will see the ramifications of the immortals fight with these humans in other sinister ways.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars. It's a series I suggest you read in order. It is best that way to get a feel for all the characters. And while this book is complete, several threads remain open including one that I hope gets a happy ending! We also get introduced to a few new characters and I'm anxious about how they will fit in the scheme of things. Oh yea... I want the next ASAP! :D So, if you like romance, action and obnoxious vampires do pick up this series. I think you will enjoy it.
I received this ARC from the author and no compensation for my review was given.

Bloggy note:

Do come back tomorrow for a blog post and giveaway from the author!!

The Map of the Sky (Trilogía Victoriana #2) by Félix J Palma

New York, 1898. When millionaire Montgomery Gilmore proposes to beautiful socialite Emma Harlow, she accepts on one condition: he must reproduce the Martian invasion featured in H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds. 

In London, Wells himself learns of certain objects, apparently of extraterrestrial origin, that were discovered decades earlier on an ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic. On that same expedition was a crew member named Edgar Allan Poe, whose experiences in the frozen wasteland would inspire him to create one of his most enduring works of literature. 

When eerie, alien-looking cylinders begin appearing on the outskirts of London, Wells is certain it is all part of some elaborate hoax. To his great horror, however, he realises that a true invasion of the earth has begun. As brave bands of citizens converge on London to defend it against utter ruin, Emma and her suitor must confront the enigma that is their love — a spark of hope even in the gathering darkness of apocalypse. 

Told with Félix J. Palma’s trademark flair for invention, The Map of the Sky is an utterly exhilarating novel that links the earth and the heavens, the familiar and the bizarre, the impossible and the inevitable.

This is the second book in this series, and I do believe it is the last. Since the protagonist as H.G. Wells, it may not be, because Wells, had a lot more books he did write. As the last book was centered around The Time Machine, this one was centered around The War of the Worlds. I also think it's apt timing since the Mars Rover, Curiosity, has captured people's attention as of late.

As with the first book, I did find some problems with this one. It still branches off into other side stories, but in this case, it feels much more purposeful. It's a much tighter book. Still, it is a book you need to take your time with and savor. The writing is still wordy, but still has that quality to it that makes it very likable. It also has that same circular quality to it in which you are guessing what is a hoax and what is real in this world. However, it doesn't spin you around as much as the first. It is much more minimal within this story. Yes, this is a book still a lot of nuance as does the first.

This book also deals with dreams and how they influence a person to do better or just reach for things. How we need dreams to go forth in life. There is also a continuation of the time conundrum we had in the first, but deals not as much with fatalism but more so with dimensions. Do they exist? Are there an untold number of them depending on how many times we make a decision? If you affect one thing in time, does it change that time line or then do you exist in another dimension when it never happened? It's really not as heavy handed as it seems, but these are questions Wells poses to himself at one point.

I give this book 3 stars. I wonder how different these books would be if read in the original language, Spanish? In any case, this series should be read in order to understand who the characters are and who they become.

I received this book from Atria and no compensation for my review was given. 

Shadows (Lux #.5) and Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. 

Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable. 

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. 

Captivated. Lured. Loved. 

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

This is the novella of what happened before Obsidian. This is where we find out what happened to Dawson the smexy twin we don't get to know in the next book. Although not all answers will be revealed.

I have to admit, I did not connect to Dawson and Bethany like I usually do with Jennifer L. Armentrout's characters. Like I have, for example, with the characters in the Covenant Series. Although I did enjoy it, I just wasn't thrilled with the almost insta love happening within these pages. And then...

The ending! Oh my what an ending! I was throughly caught up in the adventure and craved more! Oh yes, the ending sold me on this series.

I give this novella 4 stars. This one ends with a bang and sets you up nicely for the next book!

Starting over sucks. 

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. 

And then he opened his mouth. 

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Oh yea... I couldn't wait to dive into this book after reading the novella, so I was so happy I had it on hand. In this book we get to know Daemon (Dawson's identical twin) who runs hot and cold with everyone around him. Determined to protect his sister and his people, Daemon's attitude leaves a lot to be desired. However, you know what they say about that hard outer shell. It often hides a soft heart. And despite how he treats Katy, you know feelings he would rather not have rear it's ugly head for him to deal with.

Now despite what some of you have heard... endless amount about Daemon, I felt this was really Katy's book. Her growth, finding the courage she never knew she had. Oh and I LOVED this character! She is the YA character you often wish was in these books! She had the courage to look the hot alien in the eye, ignore her hormones and demand to be treated with love and respect. Oh yea... Katy is my hero by just doing this in this story. I also loved that she didn't put up with Daemon's crap.

I give this book 5 stars. It has a heroine I just loved and some great action scenes as well. The secondary characters also rock. I recommend this one to anyone who loves PNR YA and strong heroines!

PS... Gimmie Onyx NOW!! ;D

I want to thank Kristi of the Book Faery for gifting me both these books. She's awesomesauce with extra sauce... ;)

Note to the author, Jennifer L. Armentrout: 

Okay, I get it... the first heroine was a painter. The second was a book blogger. I know what that means. It means that I should be dating a hot alien. Well, I'll be waiting for you to make him real for me. Just make sure you make him over 21. I mean I'm not a total perv... ;D

Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress, #5) by Gena Showalter

From Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling sensation Gena Showalter enthralls with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, powers beyond imagining, and a seductive vampire undone by his insatiable hunger for one woman. . . .Growing up poor on New Chicago’s meanest streets, Ava Sans had two options: be the predator or be the prey. No contest. Now, working for Alien Investigation and Removal, she’s been ordered to capture the biggest, baddest warrior of all—a vampire too beautiful to be real, with the ability to manipulate time. Once the leader of the entire vampire army, McKell has been deemed savage and unstable, spurned even by his own kind. To McKell, humans should be nothing more than sustenance. Yet the petite, golden-skinned Ava is a fascinating contradiction—vicious yet witty, strong yet vulnerable, lethal but fiercely loyal. Against his better judgment, McKell craves that loyalty, and much more. When the chase leads to seduction, McKell and Ava will race to discover the truth about his past. But the answers will come at a price, even for a woman who thought she had nothing left to lose. . . .

 McKell is the ultimate alpha male. In fact he is so alpha he could have been so totally annoying. Selfish to the core as well as speaks in demands rather than statements. The reason he wasn't annoying? He actually seemed to be a child at times. Unused to the way the surface humans do things. His inability to make Ava and Noelle do what he wants ends up making him more interested than angry. He is not used to women standing on their own and telling HIM what he needs to do. In fact, the two friends end up being the only ones who capture McKell without losing a finger or two.

Ava is his match in every way. In fact they have lots of things in common including the insecurities they try to hide well. McKell and Ava break through each others blocks and learn to try to fit each other in their lives and hearts. I also loved that both Ava and Noelle had great snark going. Plus, they didn't take anything from anyone else but those they loved. This snark confused and interested McKell and he also learned the art of snark. This I loved. This made me laugh. This also helped make the book a lot of fun. In fact, I laughed out loud several times while reading. My only question during all this fun snark was when McKell would tell Ava "Good girl" when she did something he wanted her to do. By then, of course, she was in love and didn't mind this. If it was me, I would have kicked him in the... oh but then again, I'm sure he was cute when he said it. ;)

I give this book 5 stars. It has action, love, and snark. YaY for snark! It is done well and should make you laugh. I recommend this book for UF and PNR adults. I will also be on the look out for the rest of the series since this was my first introduction to the Alien Huntress series.

Click HERE to get more information and to download the first 3 chapters. Follow @genashowalter #chatPAD on twitter 11/16 at 4pm EST for a live chat about the book.