Audiobook Review: Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Narrator: Cynthia Holloway
Unabridged
11 hrs. 11 min.
Published: 12/21/10
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Source: Hoopla/Library

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me. Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced their existence to the world---and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker...and this one decided that the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead. Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I've traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude---and servitude. Right. But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I'm surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan's attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone's still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches? My initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war---and there will be blood.

My thoughts:
This is a series I've been wanting to get into for a while now. Many, many people have recommended this series and I finally decided since my library had several of these I would put them in the rotation. I was glad that I did.

We see the world through Merit a girl who did not have the best childhood, but thanks to her grandpa she was able to carve out some happiness and supplemented her family with good friends. Speaking of the new found family I have to say that I really loved all the secondary characters. They really made the world easy to embrace.

While I loved Merit and the secondary characters the plot seemed a bit uneven but not enough to pull me out of the story. I feel this has more to do with establishing the world. I also did not warm to any possible love interests for Merit, but then neither did she (even though she is frustratingly interested in one particular vampire...). I'm curious where the plot will take us next. This does not mean it had a cliffie, but it did leave a story arc open. One that will probably take us through a few books.

I give this book 4 stars. It is a good start to a UF series I know I will enjoy.

Audiobook Review: Flunked by Jen Calonita

Series: Fairy Tale Reform School #1
Unabridged
Narrator: Kristin Condon
5 hrs. 17 min.
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
Published: 3/1/15
Source: Audiobook Jukebox for review

Would you send a villain to do a hero's job? An exciting new twisted fairy tale series from award-winning author Jen Calonita. 

Full of regret, Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Flora, has founded the Fairy Tale Reform School with the mission of turning the wicked and criminally mischievous into upstanding members of Enchantasia. 

Impish, sassy 12-year-old Gilly has a history of petty theft and she's not too sorry about it. When she lifts a hair clip, she gets tossed in reform school-for at least three months. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there's more to this school than its sweet mission. There's a battle brewing and she starts to wonder: can a villain really change?

My thoughts:
I was actually thinking this one was YA as I went into it even though the blurb does specify that Gillian is 12 years old. It didn't bother me in the least and I know already several kids I would recommend this MG audiobook.

The audiobook is just long enough to tell a story and short enough to keep the MG crowd interested. This would be a great story to take along on a car trip. It is also cute enough to keep the parents interested. Kristin Condon does an excellent job of narration. While her male voices aren't too masculine it works here since the characters haven't fully hit puberty. Kristin really keeps the story moving and interesting.

The story on the whole is a retelling where some of the fairy tale villains have reformed and are setting up a school where they are trying to catch delinquents of Enchantasia early and keep them off the villain list. This creates a cute world where everything we know is either "fact" or an exaggeration of the truth. I always find these things fun.

I give this audiobook 4 stars. I think fans of Ella Enchanted will find the same fun tongue in cheek retelling of their favorite fairytale worlds. It is also a great way to get kids into audiobooks or just a bit calmer during a long car trip. The main character is growing as, I assume, the series grows. I think it will be a fun ride.

Dead Spots by Rhiannon Frater

 400 p.
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2/24/15
Source: From publisher for review

In the dead spots, dreams become reality, terror knows your name, and nightmares can kill you. 

The stillbirth of Mackenzie's son destroyed her marriage. Grieving, Mac reluctantly heads for her childhood home to seek refuge with her mother, who constantly reminds her of life's dangers. 

Driving across Texas, Mac swerves to avoid hitting a deer...and winds up in a dead spot, a frightening place that lies between the worlds of the living and the dead. If they can control their imaginations, people can literally bring their dreams to life—but most are beseiged by fears and nightmares which pursue them relentlessly.

Mackenzie's mother and husband haunt her, driving her to the brink of madness. Then she hears a child call for help and her maternal instincts kick into overdrive. Grant, Mac's ally in the dead spots, insists Johnny is a phantom, but the boy seems so real, so alive.... 

As the true horrors of the dead spots are slowly revealed, Mackenzie realizes that time is running out. But exits from the dead spots are nearly impossible to find, and defended by things almost beyond imagination.In the dead spots, dreams become reality, terror knows your name, and nightmares can kill you.

My thoughts:
This book felt like a twilight zone movie. You are thrust into an unknown realm full of rules you don't know and don't understand. It is dangerous to not know these rules and most things out there want to drain you and make you their prisoner. It isn't a jaunty tour of the backroad country.

We start with Mackenzie who is overwhelmed with several losses at once. Her life is in a total upheaval and her grief is threatening to consume her. She does what she can to move forward, but it seems like she is going in slow motion. She stumbles into a "dead spot" and that is where her adventure starts all at once twisting our sense of what is real and what is fantasy.

Although I did enjoy the twists in this story (one of them I was almost yelling at Mackenzie to "get it") what I really loved was her transformation. The grief and emotional and physical attacks could either tear a person down or build to a stronger person. She chose the latter and I really enjoyed the person she became at the end of the story.

My biggest complaint is a small one. I need an epilogue. I need to know that there is truly an HEA. What occurred to me is that there was no escape or that they stumbled onto another world. Actually there are too many possibilities to think about and I blame this book! :) It had so many twists I started inventing possibilities with the ending. Do note that despite my want of an epilogue the ending was complete.

I give this book 4 stars and I recommend it to those that enjoy a twisty tale with a strong contemporary woman.

Summer Queen by Amber Argyle

Series: Fairy Queens #2
Publisher: Starling Publishing
Published: 4/2/15
Source: From author for review

Nelay never wanted to be queen.

Poised to become the most powerful priestess in Idara, Nelay doesn’t have time to become a pretty bauble for the king. She’s too busy saving her people from the invading army sweeping across her kingdom. 

But in defeat after defeat, Nelay begins to realize a bigger power is at play than that wielded by mere mortals. Only she can stand between the cinders of her once-great nation and the vengeance of a goddess.

My thoughts:

First, let me comment about the cover. While I LOVE the cover, I wished Nelay would have been darker skinned as she is in the book. Otherwise I think the cover is stunning.

This is Nelay's story. Her country is besieged with the Winter Queen's territorial inhabitants. They are punishing the Summer Queen's populace with the idea for reparations to the atrocities a king, who is no longer in power. Of course this leads to hypocrisy and they are becoming the thing they hate. While all this strife is going on we find ourselves on a journey with Nelay, the girl we met in the novella, Fire and Ash. She is on a journey to find out what happened to her parents and hopefully rescue them. While on this journey she finds out more about herself and where her strengths lie. She is drawn into political intrigue both in the human realm as well as the fae realm. What she choses not just decides her fate but the fate of all citizens under the Summer Queen's rule.

As much as I liked the first book, I have to say that I enjoyed this one more. While there were spots that were a bit slow, it does not stay that way. It actually felt that sometimes there was almost too much action. Mostly because it felt like she needed a break and would have collapsed more than she did while on the adventure. Of course the reason she could go on so much was covered and was fully explained in the book. I just felt so sorry for how much she had to go through. It isn't really a criticism, but more like an empathetic response. :)

I give this book 4 stars. It is a great addition to the series. I would also consider this one either older YA, or NA/Adult. There is a lot of death and it just "feels" like a older book. There is no cliffie, but an open story arc so you know more adventure is coming. I look forward to the next addition.

Bloggy note:

The author is letting me give away the novella, Fire and Ash (Fairy Queen #1.5). This is the beginning of Nelay's adventure and you can read it without reading the first book. In fact you aren't lost reading this book without reading the first book. The links are below which takes you to a download area.

Fire and Ash- kindle ebook

Fire and Ash- epub ebook

Her other series, Witch Song (YA genre) has the first book free at Amazon.

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Rachel's Deception by Karen Ann Hopkins

Growing up Amish is difficult…but leaving it behind is even harder.

Noah was Amish...Rose wasn't. Being together should have been impossible. But somehow they found a way to make it work. They are finally a family, but their happily-ever-after is still a long off. Will Rose and her friends be able to force real change?

Karen Ann Hopkins returns with a gripping new book in the YA Temptation series. The powerful family saga continues with Rachel's Deception, as events spiral out of control in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview. And Rachel Miller has her own secrets to hide. Noah’s younger sister has been living a double life. That is, until Justin Cameron, Rose's little brother, catches her in the act. Rachel is not the obedient Amish girl that her sister was, and her rebelliousness takes her to a very dangerous world. A world that only her true friends can help her escape from.

As Rachel questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment, Rose discovers what it really means to be shunned. And an evil shadow looms on the horizon, threatening not only Rose, but everyone she holds dear.

Goodreads

About Karen Ann Hopkins 

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.

Blog | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Facebook Fan Page 

Links to the Temptation Series

• Temptation (Book 1) on Goodreads |Get a Copy Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
• Belonging (Book 2) on Goodreads |Get a CopyAmazon | B&N | Indiebound
• Forever (Book 3) on Goodreads |Get a Copy Amazon| B&N | Indiebound 

The Temptation Series on Audible! Here are some exciting news for all those audiobook lovers out there: The Temptation Series will be available April 21st and you canPre-Oder your copy right now! Listen to a sample on audible. 

Karen's other Books Adult Mystery, Serenity’s Plain Secrets

• LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER (book 1): Available e-book now and in print March 2015
• WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD (book 2): Available e-book now and in print March 2015
• SECRETS IN THE GRAVE (book 3) Available in paperback and e-book in December 2015

YA Paranormal, Wings of War

• EMBERS (book 1): Available in e-book now and in print March 2015
• GAIA (book 2): Available in paperback and e-book in November 2015

Giveaway Info:

Karen is generously offering up a $25 gift card (Amazon or B&N) as well as a copy of TEMPTATION (book 1) to one lucky winner! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is a part of the cover reveal tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the tour page!