Friday, February 15, 2019

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

Storm and Fury (The Harbinger, #1)  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.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

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:
Image may contain: 1 person, closeup
Born Oct 16th 7 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches
Image may contain: 1 person, baby and closeup

Image may contain: 3 people, including Brandi Kosiner, people smiling, people sitting and baby here's all three