Review: Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

From the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY and internationally bestselling author of the fantastical Dark Elements and the Lux series comes a new novel set in a world of gargoyle protectors, rising demons and one girl with an explosive secret.
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.
When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

     I wanted to read this because she is one of me favorite authors and was glad to be approved on netgalley. This doesn't effect my review because I would have loved it just as hard regardless and will probably still buy on release day.
     I liked Trinity from the beginning, she's fierce, witty and it's good to be in her head. She has the sarcasm that we're used to in JLA's main characters but it feels fresh. She is also so resilient. She faces challenges from her eye sight but she just trains harder to be able to fight and protect herself.
    The cast of characters is well done and a great complement to a main character I enjoyed. It was great to see Zayne again, and it took me longer than it should have to remember the backstory (thought you could read this without having read his story, they eventually give the details.) I also liked her protector Misha and the bond they had.
    The world is supernatural but she gives us a good re-introduction. Its  interesting to see things from Trinity's POV because she is half like Layla, but half warden instead of half demon which has whole other implications but also means that she is on the outside of the community looking in.
      She also eased us into Trinity's disability. I knew some about retinitis pigmentosa, her type of blindness before reading but JLA let us understand as much as the sighted community could be able to understand what she's dealing with. She has wacky depth perception, a difference in her field of vision but she is not fully blind as most people imagine. At the end we also realize that this is a disease that Jennifer herself has and that shocked me, I don't know how I didn't know that.
     The end was a shocker to me, Jennifer always manages to surprise me and I will def continue in this series.

Review: Be the Girl by K.A. Tucker

Be the Girl

Almost sixteen-year-old Aria Jones is starting over. New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.
With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular Junior A hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.

Hi! I know its been a while. I had a baby and he's adorable, and taking up most of my time. But I read this and think that its worth coming on and writing up a quick review. I loved the diversity of the characters, especially Cassie. I haven't read much with a featured character with autism and I think that it was fresh, honest, and she made me smile.
I also appreciated the family focus in this one. While Aria's mom hasn't always been the most involved, in this book she is realizing how to be and what she needed to change. I also love the dynamic of Cassie's family and especially big brother bear Emmett.
The romance is spot on too, and I was crushing with Aria over Emmett.
I think that it takes a hard look at bullying and shows that small things can spiral and that everyone can be guilty of hurting others and may not realize our impact on top of what that person may be dealing with.
I sped through this one and def recommend.

And just because I'm a proud momma:

This is Benjamin Lucas:

Born Oct 16th 7 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches


 here's all three

Review: If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.
Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.
For what she let happen.
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?

Emotional hard hitter. Enjoyed the characters and romance just like I do other JLA books. Def worth the time, though I will say that it was a lot of characters to hit me with at once. 

I connected with Lena on a personal note because of the way that she avoids confrontation and of course her love of reading. I totally feel her that sometimes a book can easily trump a party. 

I loved the romance between her and Sebastian. The friendship built into love over so much time. Its hard to see that they are both in denial, but it draws things out and it gets them closer.

This is a close look at guilt, grieving, realizing that every choice has a consequence, falling prey to the mindset that mistakes never catch up to you, and that sometimes even when you think that 

"it'll never happen to me" that bad things always happen to other people, that one bad choice, one time of not speaking up or listening to your gut instincts can effect much more than yourself. 

Bottom Line:

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you think its mostly young adults with the mindset of "it will never happen to me"?

Series Review: The Sookie Stackhouse Novels aka The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas (book 2)
Club Dead (book 3)
Dead to the World (book 4)
Dead as a Doornail (book 5)
Definitely Dead (book 6)
All Together Dead (book 7)
From Dead To Worse (book 8)
Dead and Gone (book 9)
Dead in the Family (book 10)
Dead Reckoning (book 11)
Deadlocked (book 12)
Dead Ever After (book 13)

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse

    Two days in a row baby! So I watched True Blood and then knew that I wanted to give the books a try again. I did try a few years back when I was just in my teen fiction mood, and basically only wanted Twilight again. 

    I enjoyed the series and binge read them. I loved Sookie's strength, dedication, loyalty, and down to earth. The poor girl goes through a lot. I can't imagine being a telepath and then having to go through life like everything is normal. People guess at what is going on with her, but no one wants to really admit that it's possible. But with vampires "coming out of the coffin" it does open up minds a bit to the supernatural. Sookie meets vampire Bill, and throughout the series I had a love hate relationship with him, and to some extent she did too. 

   Since I did binge read, at times it felt like there were too many guys too close together, but she really did hint at who she will end up with, even though I did not agree. Harris defends herself against a lot of unhappy fans, saying that they are mystery not romance. And while I could sort of accept the way that things fell apart in the last few books, and that Sookie made a choice for herself, in some aspects I wish that I would have stopped reading at book 11, but that is just not in my nature, so I ploughed through, and at times wanted to throw the book or hit some certain characters upside the head. I guess that Sookie made the right choice for her given that (spoiler, highlight to read) she didn't want to be turned, and she loved the sunlight too much, but that is not the choice I would have made for myself. (spoiler, highlight to read) I adored Eric and the whole bad boy but his soft spot is Sookie. He really did care for her, and wanted to protect her though of course his methods often could be considered manipulative. It's not that I didn't like Sam, I do, but to me, it seemed that it should have stayed best friends, unless there was more lead up. Yes, she gave us plenty of hints, but it just developed in last book and didn't really give me a chance to really cheer for their relationship. I do kind of side with some that say that it felt like she gave up on the series and just kind of threw everything together in the last books. 

     Overall, 4, 7, and 9 were my favorites and if you've read that shows if you can't tell which team I am on. Oh, and After Dead was a huge disappointment. 

Bottom Line: Addictive, binge read it.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you read this? Have there been times where the main character didn't end up with who you wanted them to? If you've read, then which "team" are you on?

Review: Boys South of the Mason Dixon by Abbi Glines

Boys South of the Mason Dixon (South of the Mason Dixon #1)

The only thing hotter than the weather South of the Mason Dixon line are the boys. Worn, faded blue jeans, slow Southern drawls, and those naughty moments in the back of pickup trucks a girl never forgets. 
Welcome to the world of the Sutton boys. 
Five brothers who fight, party, drink a little too much, but more importantly, they love their momma. Nothing can tear them apart… until the girl next door wins more than one of their hearts.

Publishes in US:May 15th 2017 by Abbi Glines Publishing
Genre: na
Source: borrowed
Series? South of the Mason Dixon #1

    Whoa. Yes. Its me. I've still be mostly reading fanfic. But my friend loaned me this one and I enjoyed. It was an easy read for me and I flew through it. Although I am sometimes a fan of the love triangle, this one def has a new spin with them being brothers. And then there is the whole mystery of Asher and why he broke Dixie's heart as well as his own. The reason actually occurred to me, but I wasn't sure of it. 

    It was set up in dual perspective as well as having flashbacks, but it worked for me, and I wasn't confused. It really tied the story together. I liked the family setting, not only the sutton boys and their personal dynamic as well as their relationships with their mom. I also loved the connection between Dixie and her dad. 

    I will def be on the lookout for more in the series to get the stories behind the other brothers. 

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Ever been attracted to a set of siblings?