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222 reviews
Close to You by Stacia Kane
5.0
Close To You is such an odd combination of creepy and sweet that somehow manages to really work. Chess and Terrible are hunting for auto parts in an old auto graveyard when they come face to face with a creepy/crazy old women with some decidedly macabre holiday plans of her own. At its heart, this is a holiday love story – albeit a love story with murderous ghosts, but still kind of touching in a weird way.
I’ve never read any books in the Downsides Ghosts series, although I’ve always been meaning to (who doesn’t love a tatted up, badass heroine?). I figured this short story was a great way to get a feel for it. It’s unbelievably short, so be aware (only 35 pages), but the storytelling style is so stellar that I find it’s a totally worthwhile read.
This short story is just dripping with voice and style. I love dialogue where you can tell who is talking just from their speech patterns, this is something you don’t see too often, but which it’s obvious that the writer excels in. Having never read the series before, I can tell you that this story stands on its own. Need to know information is given piecemeal along the way and I never felt lost.
I really loved Close To You; it’s short but worth it and I really recommend it. I ‘m absolutely going to have to start reading the Downside Ghosts series – this short story has just whet my appetite for more.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
I’ve never read any books in the Downsides Ghosts series, although I’ve always been meaning to (who doesn’t love a tatted up, badass heroine?). I figured this short story was a great way to get a feel for it. It’s unbelievably short, so be aware (only 35 pages), but the storytelling style is so stellar that I find it’s a totally worthwhile read.
This short story is just dripping with voice and style. I love dialogue where you can tell who is talking just from their speech patterns, this is something you don’t see too often, but which it’s obvious that the writer excels in. Having never read the series before, I can tell you that this story stands on its own. Need to know information is given piecemeal along the way and I never felt lost.
I really loved Close To You; it’s short but worth it and I really recommend it. I ‘m absolutely going to have to start reading the Downside Ghosts series – this short story has just whet my appetite for more.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
A Vampire's Christmas Carol by Cynthia Eden
4.0
A Vampire’s Christmas Carol is a nice little paranormal twist on the classic tale. Vampire Ben is shown the error of his ways and where the dark path he’s on will lead with the help of three beings on Christmas Eve – a demon, an angel, and a panther shifter.
This holiday novella was short, but action and story packed. The plot follows the basic outline of Dickens’ classic so there are very few surprises there (entities show the main character his past, present, and possible future which lead to his ultimate redemption). There are two explicit love scenes which I found to be a bit gratuitous as they didn’t really further the story along. They were also repetitive (both scenes are basically the same).
Overall, I found this holiday novella to be an interesting twist on an old classic and worth it if you like paranormal stories and Christmas (which I do) as it’s a good blend of the two. It’s a bit cheesy in parts, but it’s holiday cheese so it’s more easily overlooked and forgiven.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
This holiday novella was short, but action and story packed. The plot follows the basic outline of Dickens’ classic so there are very few surprises there (entities show the main character his past, present, and possible future which lead to his ultimate redemption). There are two explicit love scenes which I found to be a bit gratuitous as they didn’t really further the story along. They were also repetitive (both scenes are basically the same).
Overall, I found this holiday novella to be an interesting twist on an old classic and worth it if you like paranormal stories and Christmas (which I do) as it’s a good blend of the two. It’s a bit cheesy in parts, but it’s holiday cheese so it’s more easily overlooked and forgiven.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Ruined by Jus Accardo
3.0
Demons are real. In Ruined, Jax knows this better than anyone seeing as he’s shared a body with one since birth. A decedent of Cain, the man who introduced murder into the world when he killed his brother, Jax is cursed with a demon that exists on violence and pain – something that’s forced him from his home and away from everyone he loves – especially Samantha, his childhood best friend turned love of his life. When Sam comes under a series of mysterious attacks, Jax steps in against his better judgment to save the woman he left to protect.
This book is told in the alternating, first person perspectives of the two main characters, Jax and Samantha. I wasn’t really in love with the main characters in this one. Jax is your kind of cliché bad boy with a heart of gold and Sam was stubborn to the point of getting on my nerves. Possibly because of my inability to connect with the characters, the emotions in this story fell flat for me and I never really was able to get into it.
I liked the originality of the plot, but the book itself seemed to take forever to get anywhere. There’s a lot of talking and rehashing of characters’ thoughts and emotions that I felt could have been cut. I also found the transitions from one scene to the next to be a little choppy (for example it would be like one paragraph taking place in the woods and the next paragraph we’re suddenly in someone’s house) to such a notable degree that it felt like the characters were just kind of teleporting to their destinations after a while.
In the end, while I liked the idea behind Ruined and the basis of the plot, my inability to connect to the characters and really get into the story means I don’t think I’ll be reading any further books in this series.
*I received a free ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
This book is told in the alternating, first person perspectives of the two main characters, Jax and Samantha. I wasn’t really in love with the main characters in this one. Jax is your kind of cliché bad boy with a heart of gold and Sam was stubborn to the point of getting on my nerves. Possibly because of my inability to connect with the characters, the emotions in this story fell flat for me and I never really was able to get into it.
I liked the originality of the plot, but the book itself seemed to take forever to get anywhere. There’s a lot of talking and rehashing of characters’ thoughts and emotions that I felt could have been cut. I also found the transitions from one scene to the next to be a little choppy (for example it would be like one paragraph taking place in the woods and the next paragraph we’re suddenly in someone’s house) to such a notable degree that it felt like the characters were just kind of teleporting to their destinations after a while.
In the end, while I liked the idea behind Ruined and the basis of the plot, my inability to connect to the characters and really get into the story means I don’t think I’ll be reading any further books in this series.
*I received a free ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Heart of Stone by Christine Warren
4.0
Heart of Stone is the first book in Christine Warren’s Gargoyle series which follows the pairing up of gargoyle Guardians and unusual young women as they battle demons and their dark forces.
Ella is unusual in that she has a scary amount of magic bottled up inside her (she is not psychic at all really, unless you use a very loose definition of the word, so I found the book’s description a bit misleading here). She doesn’t like to be around people since she’s scared she might accidental hurt them with a burst of energy, so she works as a museum docent (fancy word for tour guide and/or person who explains the exhibits to guests) and gift shop manager – both of which are jobs that would force her to be around people constantly so I fail to see the logic there (I mean, seriously, if you want to avoid people, never EVER go into retail! Gift shop hmmph).
Kees (rhymes with peace as Ella so helpfully explains to the readers), is a gargoyle, but don’t call him that, he prefers Guardian. He and seven of his brothers were summoned by the Guild of Wardens (mages) to protect the world from The Seven – big bad evil that come together to form The Darkness (SUPER evil big bad). Having no idea why he was awakened from his stone-like slumber, Kees drags Ella along as he tries to figure out what’s going on – and the journey to save the world from evil begins (also they fall in love and stuff ;) )
With this book I found myself more interested in the whole “mages versus demons using Gargoyles as their super soldiers” plot than the characters. Ella in particular was pretty inconsistent. In the first few pages she’s meek and delicate, not even daring to really fight back when a man tries to force himself on her – this might be related to her not wanting to accidentally kill anyone with the energy she contains, but it made me think she was going to be a softer, more vulnerable character. Then she meets Kees, and after a minor freak out, she becomes sassy and sarcastic with him. I thought this new personality of hers might be a mask, but then they sleep together and the scene, told through her POV, is graphic and detailed, venturing into the almost crude in some parts, and I felt like I didn’t know this character at all – it just didn’t feel true to who she had been up until that point. And that was apparently some life-changing event, because after that Ella is more self-assured and she stands up for herself by being, not only sassy and sarcastic, but opinionated and stubborn (I like it her more like this anyway, so I was happy for the personality shift, but still.)
I enjoyed this book more in the second half as I was able to really get into the plot, so I would advise anyone who feels like giving up in the beginning to try sticking out a little longer. In the end we’re pretty much told who the next book will be about (Ella’s art restorer friend Felicity (Fil) located another Guardian gargoyle) and I can’t wait to read it, not only to follow the plotline through it, but because from what little we’ve seen of Fil, she seems like a character I’d like to get to know better.
In conclusion, not the most consistent of books, but still interesting and attention-holding enough that I plan to follow the series.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Ella is unusual in that she has a scary amount of magic bottled up inside her (she is not psychic at all really, unless you use a very loose definition of the word, so I found the book’s description a bit misleading here). She doesn’t like to be around people since she’s scared she might accidental hurt them with a burst of energy, so she works as a museum docent (fancy word for tour guide and/or person who explains the exhibits to guests) and gift shop manager – both of which are jobs that would force her to be around people constantly so I fail to see the logic there (I mean, seriously, if you want to avoid people, never EVER go into retail! Gift shop hmmph).
Kees (rhymes with peace as Ella so helpfully explains to the readers), is a gargoyle, but don’t call him that, he prefers Guardian. He and seven of his brothers were summoned by the Guild of Wardens (mages) to protect the world from The Seven – big bad evil that come together to form The Darkness (SUPER evil big bad). Having no idea why he was awakened from his stone-like slumber, Kees drags Ella along as he tries to figure out what’s going on – and the journey to save the world from evil begins (also they fall in love and stuff ;) )
With this book I found myself more interested in the whole “mages versus demons using Gargoyles as their super soldiers” plot than the characters. Ella in particular was pretty inconsistent. In the first few pages she’s meek and delicate, not even daring to really fight back when a man tries to force himself on her – this might be related to her not wanting to accidentally kill anyone with the energy she contains, but it made me think she was going to be a softer, more vulnerable character. Then she meets Kees, and after a minor freak out, she becomes sassy and sarcastic with him. I thought this new personality of hers might be a mask, but then they sleep together and the scene, told through her POV, is graphic and detailed, venturing into the almost crude in some parts, and I felt like I didn’t know this character at all – it just didn’t feel true to who she had been up until that point. And that was apparently some life-changing event, because after that Ella is more self-assured and she stands up for herself by being, not only sassy and sarcastic, but opinionated and stubborn (I like it her more like this anyway, so I was happy for the personality shift, but still.)
I enjoyed this book more in the second half as I was able to really get into the plot, so I would advise anyone who feels like giving up in the beginning to try sticking out a little longer. In the end we’re pretty much told who the next book will be about (Ella’s art restorer friend Felicity (Fil) located another Guardian gargoyle) and I can’t wait to read it, not only to follow the plotline through it, but because from what little we’ve seen of Fil, she seems like a character I’d like to get to know better.
In conclusion, not the most consistent of books, but still interesting and attention-holding enough that I plan to follow the series.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Knock Out by Michele Mannon
4.0
Logan used to be a prima ballerina on the top of her game, until her ex dropped her on America Gets Its Groove On. The incident leaves her injured and unable to perform professionally anymore. To add insult to injury, her ex turns into a media darling/famewhore who blames the drop on Logan’s cup size.
Keane used to be a Marine Corps Martial Arts teacher before a tragic event turned him into a hardened man who uses fighting, drinking, and women to forget. Now a welterweight MMA fighter, Keane doesn’t want to fight anymore – until an ex-ballerina turned ring card girl does everything in her power to talk him back into it.
My favorite part of Knock Out was how imperfect Logan and Keane were. These characters had depth. It would have been so easy for Logan to be a Pity Party Princess with all the crap her ex put her through and the way the media wanted to exploit her and her boob size (which- rude), but she was stubborn and she owned it. I felt at times she was a little selfish in the way she was really pushing for Keane to fight in most of the book, when it was obvious he really didn’t want to, simply so she could keep her job and earn a cash bonus, but that was just another facet of her character. She was walked on by her ex and now she pretty much had nothing, she needed that money and it was time for her to be a little selfish.
While Logan started to see outside herself as the book went on, Keane never really changed all that much – and I like that. Keane was as grumpy as a grizzly (with a secret soft heart) from beginning to end and whenever Logan kept up her stubborn invasion of his life I wanted to warn her not to poke the bear, but she did. And they fought. And then had lots of steamy, incredibly detailed, naughty times.
While I enjoyed this book and the well-rounded characterizations of Logan and Keane, there was one thing that time and time again dragged me out of the story – Logan’s ballet-inspired exclamations. She said things like “sweet pirouette!” or “leaping leotards!”. She said “twist my tutu” five times and by the eleventh time she uttered “bleeding leotards”, I almost started to grind my teeth (seriously, 11 times!). She also said “crinkle my camisole” five times, but that wasn’t ballet inspired. Of course, this is just a matter of personal taste. I am positive other readers may find this a quirky habit of Logan’s and quite charming – just not me.
Despite the aforementioned exclamations, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to other romance lovers who like their main characters sexy, stubborn, and strong. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in this series – it revolves around the relationship of two characters who had a bit of an altercation in Knock Out and I can’t wait to read it.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Keane used to be a Marine Corps Martial Arts teacher before a tragic event turned him into a hardened man who uses fighting, drinking, and women to forget. Now a welterweight MMA fighter, Keane doesn’t want to fight anymore – until an ex-ballerina turned ring card girl does everything in her power to talk him back into it.
My favorite part of Knock Out was how imperfect Logan and Keane were. These characters had depth. It would have been so easy for Logan to be a Pity Party Princess with all the crap her ex put her through and the way the media wanted to exploit her and her boob size (which- rude), but she was stubborn and she owned it. I felt at times she was a little selfish in the way she was really pushing for Keane to fight in most of the book, when it was obvious he really didn’t want to, simply so she could keep her job and earn a cash bonus, but that was just another facet of her character. She was walked on by her ex and now she pretty much had nothing, she needed that money and it was time for her to be a little selfish.
While Logan started to see outside herself as the book went on, Keane never really changed all that much – and I like that. Keane was as grumpy as a grizzly (with a secret soft heart) from beginning to end and whenever Logan kept up her stubborn invasion of his life I wanted to warn her not to poke the bear, but she did. And they fought. And then had lots of steamy, incredibly detailed, naughty times.
While I enjoyed this book and the well-rounded characterizations of Logan and Keane, there was one thing that time and time again dragged me out of the story – Logan’s ballet-inspired exclamations. She said things like “sweet pirouette!” or “leaping leotards!”. She said “twist my tutu” five times and by the eleventh time she uttered “bleeding leotards”, I almost started to grind my teeth (seriously, 11 times!). She also said “crinkle my camisole” five times, but that wasn’t ballet inspired. Of course, this is just a matter of personal taste. I am positive other readers may find this a quirky habit of Logan’s and quite charming – just not me.
Despite the aforementioned exclamations, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to other romance lovers who like their main characters sexy, stubborn, and strong. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in this series – it revolves around the relationship of two characters who had a bit of an altercation in Knock Out and I can’t wait to read it.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Shadowplay by L.R. Lam
5.0
It was love at first page.
Shadowplay is set in a world where stage magic and real magic touch, where steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction combine to make a completely absorbing world that draws you in and immerses you in the story unfolding before you. Micah and Drystan are on the run from events that took place in the previous book and are taken in by a magician, Jasper Maske, who agrees to teach them stage magic. Through Maske, the two make a new friend – Cyan. Cyan is different, not exactly like Micah, but with her own unique secrets. Cyan and Micah find out just how similar, and special, they are when a being from the past reaches out to them both and asks for their help to stop a terrible history from repeating.
The story is told through Micah’s first person perspective and he describes himself best when he says: “I was raised as a girl, but now I live as a boy. But I am both.” Micah is both fully male and fully female at the same time. The additional layer of gender identity weaved within this story of murders, magic, and machinery is very well done and I loved it. Micah’s romance with Drystan moved at a good pace with what felt like a natural and inevitable progression, not jumped into like we see in a lot of YA books. I found the characters in this book fascinating and original, different and unique, yet completely relatable.
Shadowplay is the second book in the Micah Grey series, and although I haven’t read the first book (Pantomime), I never felt lost. The world building is fantastically done and all the needed details are peppered in organically. I still want to read the first one, if only because this story was so engrossing that I want to get my hands on more. Shadowplay ends in a cliffhanger, which I’m not all that in to, but at least it assures me there is more to come in the world of Micah Grey and I find comfort in that.
This was a gorgeous read and I adored it from beginning to end. Even though I’ve read it in an e-format, I’m moved to go out a get a paper copy just so I can physically own a hard copy – I loved it that much. I highly recommend it and I plan to get my hands on the first book in this series as soon as I’m able.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Shadowplay is set in a world where stage magic and real magic touch, where steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction combine to make a completely absorbing world that draws you in and immerses you in the story unfolding before you. Micah and Drystan are on the run from events that took place in the previous book and are taken in by a magician, Jasper Maske, who agrees to teach them stage magic. Through Maske, the two make a new friend – Cyan. Cyan is different, not exactly like Micah, but with her own unique secrets. Cyan and Micah find out just how similar, and special, they are when a being from the past reaches out to them both and asks for their help to stop a terrible history from repeating.
The story is told through Micah’s first person perspective and he describes himself best when he says: “I was raised as a girl, but now I live as a boy. But I am both.” Micah is both fully male and fully female at the same time. The additional layer of gender identity weaved within this story of murders, magic, and machinery is very well done and I loved it. Micah’s romance with Drystan moved at a good pace with what felt like a natural and inevitable progression, not jumped into like we see in a lot of YA books. I found the characters in this book fascinating and original, different and unique, yet completely relatable.
Shadowplay is the second book in the Micah Grey series, and although I haven’t read the first book (Pantomime), I never felt lost. The world building is fantastically done and all the needed details are peppered in organically. I still want to read the first one, if only because this story was so engrossing that I want to get my hands on more. Shadowplay ends in a cliffhanger, which I’m not all that in to, but at least it assures me there is more to come in the world of Micah Grey and I find comfort in that.
This was a gorgeous read and I adored it from beginning to end. Even though I’ve read it in an e-format, I’m moved to go out a get a paper copy just so I can physically own a hard copy – I loved it that much. I highly recommend it and I plan to get my hands on the first book in this series as soon as I’m able.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Sing Sweet Nightingale by Erica Cameron
5.0
Creepy and captivating, Sing Sweet Nightingale is a YA paranormal horror story embodying some very important pieces of wisdom:
- If something seems too good to be true, it probably is: Seemingly benevolent, wise creatures come to specially chosen youths at night, drawing them into a dream world and offering them something in exchange for a simple promise. Hudson promises not to get into fights in exchange for the mentoring he needs to keep him out of trouble. Mariella promises not to utter a single word and in return she gets a nightly Paradise escape and a handsome man who loves her.
- What you don’t know, can hurt you: These beings have an agenda of their own, they lie and manipulate, using the promises made to steal the extraordinary skills these chosen ones possess. Hudson is a born fighter, and Mariella, a born leader – their respective promises steal this from them.
- Be careful what you wish for: Hudson’s promise not to fight results in him standing helplessly by while his little (4 years old!) brother is killed right in front of him. When he finds out he’s been lied to, he reacts by turning on his dream world and its creator, destroying them both and coming out changed – solid black eyes, visions, and various very useful abilities. It’s the visions that lead him to Mariella, whose promise not to speak has isolated her from friends and family and almost completely kept her insulated from the real world – just the way her dream world creator, Orane, wants it.
Sing Sweet Nightingale is told through the alternating first person perspectives of Hudson and Mariella. The book focuses on Hudson trying his damnedest to find a way to get Mariella out of Orane’s grasp, and Mariella resisting for all she’s worth.
There were two things in this book that really stuck with me. The first was the opening chapter in which Hudson’s brother, 4 year old J.R., dies. I’ve read books where little kids have died before, but I don’t remember ever reading an actual scene involving the killing of a child and then watching them die. I was really affected by that, a lot, so I want to add a trigger warning here. The second thing that got to me was Orane’s predatory nature. I mean, I get that he was a demon and evil and all that, but he started bringing Mariella to his dream world when she was 8 and then started a romantic relationship with her when she turned 16. I was really creeped out by that. So much so, I cringed, actually, physically cringed, whenever they kissed. Knowing it was a way to manipulate her against seeking an outside relationship in the real world rather than any kind pedophilic nature didn’t really help. Even Hudson recoiled in disgust when he finds out the kind of relationship between Orane and Mariella.
I was not surprised to learn the author has a degree in Psychology, it definitely shows in the dream demon’s M.O. and in how well fleshed out the characters were in their actions and motivations. I loved the cast of characters in this one. The main characters were great, don’t get me wrong, but it was the supporting cast that really made the book for me. I especially liked Dawn, the short, nearsighted, 14 year old who worked at the New Age store and was always handy with the knowledge and K.T., Mariella’s friend from childhood who’s never given up on a friend who hasn’t spoken to her in years and who doesn’t even know who she is. I also really loved that the parental units were interesting and part of the plot AND let into the loop of the paranormal goings-on – something we don’t see too often in YA books.
Sing Sweet Nightingale is the first book in the Dream War Sage, which looks to be a promising series. From relatable characters to such a unique plot, this is definitely one to follow. I eagerly look forward to the next book in this series.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
- If something seems too good to be true, it probably is: Seemingly benevolent, wise creatures come to specially chosen youths at night, drawing them into a dream world and offering them something in exchange for a simple promise. Hudson promises not to get into fights in exchange for the mentoring he needs to keep him out of trouble. Mariella promises not to utter a single word and in return she gets a nightly Paradise escape and a handsome man who loves her.
- What you don’t know, can hurt you: These beings have an agenda of their own, they lie and manipulate, using the promises made to steal the extraordinary skills these chosen ones possess. Hudson is a born fighter, and Mariella, a born leader – their respective promises steal this from them.
- Be careful what you wish for: Hudson’s promise not to fight results in him standing helplessly by while his little (4 years old!) brother is killed right in front of him. When he finds out he’s been lied to, he reacts by turning on his dream world and its creator, destroying them both and coming out changed – solid black eyes, visions, and various very useful abilities. It’s the visions that lead him to Mariella, whose promise not to speak has isolated her from friends and family and almost completely kept her insulated from the real world – just the way her dream world creator, Orane, wants it.
Sing Sweet Nightingale is told through the alternating first person perspectives of Hudson and Mariella. The book focuses on Hudson trying his damnedest to find a way to get Mariella out of Orane’s grasp, and Mariella resisting for all she’s worth.
There were two things in this book that really stuck with me. The first was the opening chapter in which Hudson’s brother, 4 year old J.R., dies. I’ve read books where little kids have died before, but I don’t remember ever reading an actual scene involving the killing of a child and then watching them die. I was really affected by that, a lot, so I want to add a trigger warning here. The second thing that got to me was Orane’s predatory nature. I mean, I get that he was a demon and evil and all that, but he started bringing Mariella to his dream world when she was 8 and then started a romantic relationship with her when she turned 16. I was really creeped out by that. So much so, I cringed, actually, physically cringed, whenever they kissed. Knowing it was a way to manipulate her against seeking an outside relationship in the real world rather than any kind pedophilic nature didn’t really help. Even Hudson recoiled in disgust when he finds out the kind of relationship between Orane and Mariella.
I was not surprised to learn the author has a degree in Psychology, it definitely shows in the dream demon’s M.O. and in how well fleshed out the characters were in their actions and motivations. I loved the cast of characters in this one. The main characters were great, don’t get me wrong, but it was the supporting cast that really made the book for me. I especially liked Dawn, the short, nearsighted, 14 year old who worked at the New Age store and was always handy with the knowledge and K.T., Mariella’s friend from childhood who’s never given up on a friend who hasn’t spoken to her in years and who doesn’t even know who she is. I also really loved that the parental units were interesting and part of the plot AND let into the loop of the paranormal goings-on – something we don’t see too often in YA books.
Sing Sweet Nightingale is the first book in the Dream War Sage, which looks to be a promising series. From relatable characters to such a unique plot, this is definitely one to follow. I eagerly look forward to the next book in this series.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
The Devil in the Corner by Patricia Elliott
4.0
The Devil In The Corner, written in the Victorian gothic style, is a tale of madness, mystery, and machinations.
Maud, an ex-governess with a sad past and a laudanum addiction, comes to live at Windward House with a heretofore unknown relation. This relation, her estranged uncle’s stepdaughter, Juliana, is chronically unwell with a mysterious illness. Juliana wishes for Maud to be akin to a companion and nursemaid to help ease her suffering, holding the promise of her will over Maud’s head to keep her under her thumb and dancing to her tune as well as isolated from forming bonds with other people. Maud finds relief from her cousins stifling restrictions and the unsettling dread she feels at Windward House in a budding, forbidden relationship with John, an artist brought in from London to restore a painting found in the church. But Maud isn’t the only one with eyes for John; Edie, the young daughter of Juliana’s cook, is determined to come between the two.
With each part of this three part tale, circumstances become more and more unbearable for Maud. Walls are thrown up between her and what she wants, causing Maud’s addiction to her beloved laudanum drops to grow, all the while Juliana get sicker and more insufferable and Edie’s manipulations of the situation take a dark turn – until finally, fatally, events comes to a tragic head.
The tagline to this story is: How can the devil be stopped when he lives inside you? I think this is a fair indicator of the motivations seen throughout this book – Juliana, Edie, and even Maud from time to time, all seem to have a little bit of the devil inside them. But then again, don’t we all sometimes when it comes to getting what we want?
Elliot does a superb job of writing characters that live on a razor edge between sympathetic and unlikable. On the one hand, their motivations are plain to see and empathize with (the want of love, money, companionship, security), but the way they go about securing these things are selfish and self-serving.
The book is told through the first person narratives of Maud and John. Maud is an unreliable narrator, exhibiting signs of paranoia and disassociation early on that only get worse as the book progresses. John stands in complete opposition to Maud, and indeed most of the other characters, as he is self-sacrificing and completely oblivious to the motivations of others, only seeing the good in people – a characteristic which in the end leads to much heartache all around.
It’s a slow burn of a book; I didn’t really get into it until Part 3. I kept putting it down (I seem to be short of patience as of late), but I also kept picking it back up – and I’m glad I did because this book finishes strong in those last chapters.
All in all, I would recommend this book to lovers of gothic, historical books and/or books with a Victorian setting. As a lover of all those things, I ended up very much enjoying The Devil In The Corner.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Maud, an ex-governess with a sad past and a laudanum addiction, comes to live at Windward House with a heretofore unknown relation. This relation, her estranged uncle’s stepdaughter, Juliana, is chronically unwell with a mysterious illness. Juliana wishes for Maud to be akin to a companion and nursemaid to help ease her suffering, holding the promise of her will over Maud’s head to keep her under her thumb and dancing to her tune as well as isolated from forming bonds with other people. Maud finds relief from her cousins stifling restrictions and the unsettling dread she feels at Windward House in a budding, forbidden relationship with John, an artist brought in from London to restore a painting found in the church. But Maud isn’t the only one with eyes for John; Edie, the young daughter of Juliana’s cook, is determined to come between the two.
With each part of this three part tale, circumstances become more and more unbearable for Maud. Walls are thrown up between her and what she wants, causing Maud’s addiction to her beloved laudanum drops to grow, all the while Juliana get sicker and more insufferable and Edie’s manipulations of the situation take a dark turn – until finally, fatally, events comes to a tragic head.
The tagline to this story is: How can the devil be stopped when he lives inside you? I think this is a fair indicator of the motivations seen throughout this book – Juliana, Edie, and even Maud from time to time, all seem to have a little bit of the devil inside them. But then again, don’t we all sometimes when it comes to getting what we want?
Elliot does a superb job of writing characters that live on a razor edge between sympathetic and unlikable. On the one hand, their motivations are plain to see and empathize with (the want of love, money, companionship, security), but the way they go about securing these things are selfish and self-serving.
The book is told through the first person narratives of Maud and John. Maud is an unreliable narrator, exhibiting signs of paranoia and disassociation early on that only get worse as the book progresses. John stands in complete opposition to Maud, and indeed most of the other characters, as he is self-sacrificing and completely oblivious to the motivations of others, only seeing the good in people – a characteristic which in the end leads to much heartache all around.
It’s a slow burn of a book; I didn’t really get into it until Part 3. I kept putting it down (I seem to be short of patience as of late), but I also kept picking it back up – and I’m glad I did because this book finishes strong in those last chapters.
All in all, I would recommend this book to lovers of gothic, historical books and/or books with a Victorian setting. As a lover of all those things, I ended up very much enjoying The Devil In The Corner.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
The Adventures of Jillian Spectre by Nic Tatano
5.0
Have you ever met someone with a really strong personality and you can’t stand them at first, but then you spend more time around them and realize they’re actually pretty awesome and next thing you know you’re BFF’s? That’s how I felt about The Adventures of Jillian Spectre.
Jillian Spectre is a seventeen-year-old seer living in New York City’s paranormal section. Her mom is a seer, her best friend is a muse, and the two guys she most wants to date are a mindreader and a telekinetic, respectively. While doing a crystal ball reading for a client one day, Jillian gets a glimpse of something she’s not supposed to see – the afterlife. And it just snowballs from there. Her powers grow to unheard of levels and she finds out her dad is some kind of evil super villain out to take over mankind and she’s the only one that can stop him. It’s quite a lot of pressure for a high school girl, but Jillian isn’t your average high school girl – she’s got this.
This story has a lot of character and voice. So much so that I was a little overwhelmed going in. The Adventures of Jillian Spectre is told through the first person POV of Jillian and she spends a portion of the book (mostly in the beginning and lightly sprinkled in other parts) talking directly to the reader, which I found jarring. I thought this was going to get old really fast and feel gimmicky, but that is not what happened at all. Instead I found myself really liking Jillian and her strong personality and was sad when the story ended (p.s. I read the first chapter for the next book in this series and I was sad when that came to an end as well, I need more!).
There’s a whole lot going on in this book with new things thrown at you every few pages. There were a few times I had to stop and ask myself how the characters got to this point, because it did seem convoluted in some parts, but that’s part of this book’s charm. Things just keep getting thrown at Jillian, but with the help of her mom and friends, she takes it all in stride.
I loved this book. I (eventually) loved its voice and energy and I really adored the characters by the end. It’s got charm and panache and I absolutely recommend it for YA book lovers out there.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Jillian Spectre is a seventeen-year-old seer living in New York City’s paranormal section. Her mom is a seer, her best friend is a muse, and the two guys she most wants to date are a mindreader and a telekinetic, respectively. While doing a crystal ball reading for a client one day, Jillian gets a glimpse of something she’s not supposed to see – the afterlife. And it just snowballs from there. Her powers grow to unheard of levels and she finds out her dad is some kind of evil super villain out to take over mankind and she’s the only one that can stop him. It’s quite a lot of pressure for a high school girl, but Jillian isn’t your average high school girl – she’s got this.
This story has a lot of character and voice. So much so that I was a little overwhelmed going in. The Adventures of Jillian Spectre is told through the first person POV of Jillian and she spends a portion of the book (mostly in the beginning and lightly sprinkled in other parts) talking directly to the reader, which I found jarring. I thought this was going to get old really fast and feel gimmicky, but that is not what happened at all. Instead I found myself really liking Jillian and her strong personality and was sad when the story ended (p.s. I read the first chapter for the next book in this series and I was sad when that came to an end as well, I need more!).
There’s a whole lot going on in this book with new things thrown at you every few pages. There were a few times I had to stop and ask myself how the characters got to this point, because it did seem convoluted in some parts, but that’s part of this book’s charm. Things just keep getting thrown at Jillian, but with the help of her mom and friends, she takes it all in stride.
I loved this book. I (eventually) loved its voice and energy and I really adored the characters by the end. It’s got charm and panache and I absolutely recommend it for YA book lovers out there.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Obsidian Eyes by A.W. Exley
4.0
It’s 1836 and Allie Donovan is a new student at St Matthews Academy, an aristocratic English boarding school with a unique curriculum, where she doesn’t exactly fit in among the high born students. Allie is guild born, meaning she was born into one of the four guilds that make up society’s underworld: The Runners (thieves), Skin Dancers (assassins), Grim Reapers (war profiteers), or Whisperers (spies) – but she’s very tight lipped about which one it is she belongs to. Allie’s been sent to St. Matthews for a purpose – she just doesn’t know what that purpose is. In the meantime, she makes friends with her lovely roommate, Eloise, a girl with a taste for Frankenstein-ish experiments, Zeb, an inventor of living mechanical beasts, and a pair of Scottish Lords, one who makes her blood boil in both irritating and intriguing ways.
The world building in this book is really fantastic and vivid. I especially loved the clothing descriptions – one of my favorite things about Steampunk is the awesome outfits and I could really picture the amazing ones the writer put together for the characters here and it really helped to draw me in and visualize the story. I found the mechanical, political, and spy vs spy maneuverings to be a little bit hard to follow, but interesting all the same.
I really loved the main character, Allie. She’s tough and streetwise and a talented fighter – but at the same time she’s completely relatable as a regular teenage girl with family issues, a crush on a boy she thinks is out of her league, and a deep sense of loyalty to her friends. Her roommate/best friend, Eloise, is also a really fascinating mix of seemingly incongruent characteristics – she a girl who knows her fashion and can sew you up something gorgeous on the spot, but also loves to spend the majority of her time performing experiments with electricity on dead things ( I really loved this about her).
There’s a lot of intrigue and action in this book and a lot is left up in the air at the end, so I’m hoping there’s more books in the work because I really want to find out what happens. Overall, Obsidian Eyes is an intriguing story set in a well written Steampunk world and I would recommend it to lovers of Steampunk (of course) and strong-yet-vulnerable female characters that know their way around a dagger.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
The world building in this book is really fantastic and vivid. I especially loved the clothing descriptions – one of my favorite things about Steampunk is the awesome outfits and I could really picture the amazing ones the writer put together for the characters here and it really helped to draw me in and visualize the story. I found the mechanical, political, and spy vs spy maneuverings to be a little bit hard to follow, but interesting all the same.
I really loved the main character, Allie. She’s tough and streetwise and a talented fighter – but at the same time she’s completely relatable as a regular teenage girl with family issues, a crush on a boy she thinks is out of her league, and a deep sense of loyalty to her friends. Her roommate/best friend, Eloise, is also a really fascinating mix of seemingly incongruent characteristics – she a girl who knows her fashion and can sew you up something gorgeous on the spot, but also loves to spend the majority of her time performing experiments with electricity on dead things ( I really loved this about her).
There’s a lot of intrigue and action in this book and a lot is left up in the air at the end, so I’m hoping there’s more books in the work because I really want to find out what happens. Overall, Obsidian Eyes is an intriguing story set in a well written Steampunk world and I would recommend it to lovers of Steampunk (of course) and strong-yet-vulnerable female characters that know their way around a dagger.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.