The Athena Affect (The Athena Affect #1)

The Athena Affect (The Athena Affect #1)
 by Derrolyn Anderson
Rating: 4/5

Book 2 of the Series The Mackenzie Legacy Due out in 2013!!!!

Goodreads Summary:
Country girl Cali has been kept a secret her entire life, raised in isolation by two very troubled people. Despite her parent’s disturbing fits, Cal is perfectly content, living at one with the nature that surrounds her, and finding adventure inside the pages of her beloved books. When an awful tragedy tears her away from her remote cabin in the woods, nothing she’s ever read has prepared her for a world that she knows very little about.

Girls and motorcycles are what bad-boy Cal’s life is all about. Brought up in a raucous party house by his biker brother, he’s free to do as he pleases, going through the motions on his final days of high school. Aimless, Cal stopped thinking about his future a long time ago.

Attacked by a gang of thugs while running an errand for his brother, Cal is in serious trouble until a fierce girl appears out of nowhere to intervene. She chases off three grown men, sparing Cal a brutal beating before disappearing into the night like a spirit. He can’t stop thinking about his mysterious rescuer, and when she turns out to be the weird new girl at school who goes out of her way to avoid him, he can’t contain his curiosity. 

He’s never met anyone like her before, and the more he learns about the unusual girl who shares his nickname, the more he wants to know. Cal can’t help falling for Cal, but can he keep her from falling victim to a dangerous enemy from her parent’s tragic past?

My Review:

 I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review

This was a different idea for me and I liked it. But I must first get this one thing off my chest, I am sure that the main characters names was intended to be cute... well I did not like it, Calvin and Caledonia of Cal and Cal as they are called at the beginning which was changed to Cal and Cali but it also went back and forth so sometimes I was confused for a second, but now that I have said that I really did enjoy this book
    It was interesting to see Caledonia go from a wild girl in the woods to a city life and her discovery of all things modern, but when she gets closer to Calvin he learns just as much as he teaches. I was pleased to see their affection grew to love they were curious about each other at first and after spending time together and many cute moments, Caledonia lets down her guard a bit and after everything she had suffered I didn't blame her for being careful:
    "She feared heartbreak much more than she feared loneliness."
 And weaved in this adorable love story is Caledonia's past and why she was hidden in the woods, which was very cool and exciting and I don't want to spoil anything but trust me it is great and I was caught off guard, happy and little sad by the end and I am curious to see what happens next so I will be continuing this series.
 Now because I thought this was a really great part of the story I want to share this quote with you:
     " Like a light at the end if a tunnel, She had signaled a way out of the darkness that had become his life. She'd made him question his shiftless existence and want to be a better person. His grandmother had guessed right, she was the one, and he could never go back to the way he was before she came along."
Overall this was a good read, thank you to the author for allowing me to read this book it is a fresh read for everyone.  

   

Hook

Hook by Nicolas Tsamis
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Summary:
Shortly before he dies, an elderly enlightened Teacher in India finds a way to leave his body and remain suspended in a dimension somewhere between life and death. Only Rahul, his loyal student, knows about the Teacher's plans, as the dying man gives him instructions for the future before leaving his body. Meanwhile, Konstantinos, a successful 35-year-old bachelor and owner of a software company, finds himself in the middle of the Teacher's grand plan without realizing it. His life is radically changed, along with that of the woman he loves and everyone else around them, as they all become involved in something so huge, it could positively alter the course of humanity.
Hook can be found on Amazon in paperback and kindle formats here: amazon link
My Review:
  I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I found the concept and idea behind this book to be very interesting and very in depth and it had me thinking some very deep thoughts while I was reading and even after, which in case you are wondering that is a good thing in my world that is one of the many things I love about reading. I have read mostly YA for the past couple of years and so this is probably not something I would have picked up on my own I found myself enjoying it and I am glad I read it.
 With the arrival of "the Spirit" many people's lives are turned upside down, but in my opinion Konstantinos had the hardest part to play in the series of events that unfolded and my heart broke for him, but as I kept reading he handled himself really well overall even when things got more complex and difficult, doing as Hook advised him and a few others he put his ego aside to help others.
  Early on this book was full of a wide range of characters and the author does a great job weaving the stories and having them unravel in such as a way that I was kept interested and wondering what was building up, and now that brings me to the one thing that let me down a little I felt that it fell a little flat for me at the end.
Overall I enjoyed this read and I would like to thank the author Nicolas Tsamis for giving me the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone I built in Young Adult novels and find myself enjoying the ride.  

About the Author:

Nicolas Tsamis (ntsamis@gmail.com) was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He works as a freelance program analyst while also writing. "Hook" is his first published novel, awarded as "Novel of the year 2011" in Greece.

Mail Call!!!

Today I received 2 books in the mail from Deonna Johnson written by the sister duo Amanda Gerry and Christy Hall. Visit them at their website www.shardwell.com I am so excited to get started and I will as soon as I finish my other read to reviews thank you so much to both party`s I am so happy to asked to read these!!!!!!

I even got a nice letter sorry you can`t read it but trust me it is lovely.

I must also say that these covers are fantastic!!!!

Phoenix Angel (Shardwell 1):

What is happening to us? I’ve asked this question a thousand times, but there is no answer.

I was a normal teenager, trudging my way through senior year with my best friend. Then a boy named Kyle Spencer came to Idaho Falls, and since then everything has fallen apart. Something mysterious has passed among the three of us. We’ve developed terrifying abilities—strange powers that separate us from normal people.

Even worse, someone—or something—has taken a deadly interest in us. We never know when they are going to strike, or how to protect ourselves. We don’t even know who they are.
All we know is that they want one of us alive, and we don’t know who. The others they want dead.

Which will I be?

Guardian of Time (Shardwell 2):

Magic, Demons, arranged marriages, and war.
Margariete, is a young shelted princess who wants to marry for love and when she thinks her father has arranged a marriage for her to an older man she runs away and learns somthing of her world and about trust and loyalty. She also learns about her new developing powers, and makes new friends.

And because they are so awesome I was sent a T-shirt as well man I feel lucky today!!!!

Half Black Soul (The Alexa Montgomery Saga 2)

Half Black Soul (The Alexa Montgomery Saga 2) by H.D. Gordon

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Summary:
In the past few weeks Alexa Montgomery has had her entire world flipped upside down. She's gone from living a semi-normal teenage life to a life full of vampires and werewolves who all expect her to deliver them from the control of an evil dictator. 

Alexa is the last of her kind; a Sun Warrior, and now she has left the safety of Two Rivers to search for her mother, but she's left her sister behind to do so, and Nelly is the one person that she was told that she must always protect. Kayden, a vampire who is Alexa's other half, has followed her on her journey. But, secrets are about to come out, relationships will break and danger lies just up ahead. Will Alexa be able to get through all of this and make it out alive? And, will she be able to protect Nelly from danger when she is so far away?

My Review:
  So this has become one of my favorite series, I absolutely loved the first book and although this one was not as good as the first I still loved it and I am still very excited to continue on and see what will happen now.  I love H.D. Gordon's writing style it makes me feel like I am living  in this crazy world that has been created, and with Alexa and Nelly separated it was cool to get both points of view learning many new things about both characters. I was pulled back into this world right away and I did not want to put it down, I just can't say enough good things about this book.
 Alexa and Kayden together are fantastic and that I know what I know about Jackson I am even more in Kayden's corner, plus they had some pretty hot moments together and I know that Alexa will come to her senses and realize she needs this hot man and that  is not a bad thing and no one can understand her struggle like him.
 This book focused more on Alexa trying to come to terms with what she calls "her monster"  and I think the most important part for me was Olivia's words:

"You are not a monster Alexa" she said. Her grip tightened on my chin when I tried to look away. "You are a Sun Warrior, and you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. But, you are strong and built for such labor. You think you're evil and tainted, but what you don't understand is that good needs it's warriors too. That is what you need to remember. Or else you will forever be divided into two warring sides that will destroy you in their battles."

I found that to be very profound and I hope Alexa remembers her words cause I kinda like the crazy "monster" part of her, it is no nonsense and kick ass and now that so many things have been blown wide open with that insane ending I think in the next book "the monster" will be needed.
 This book was awesome and best of all it had more Kayden which I was so excited about I have a crazy crush on him and this pretty much sums it up:
      "The kind if man we all are only ever allowed to dream about"
I can't wait to continue this series and find out what could possibly happen now after that crazy ending. If you have not started this series then I suggest you do now you will not be disappointed Awesome Awesome books!!!!

Guardians Of The Akasha

Goodreads Summary:Eighteen-year old Keira Wilde has finished school and is determined to make her own plans for her future, thank you very much. She wants to be a photographer; not go to Oxford, like her parents want, or be a hero, like her aunt wants. But Keira’s plans go flying out of the window when she is attacked on the streets of London and she is forced to use her powers in self-defense.

Unfortunately, her actions attract the attention of a predator intent on using her...or destroying her. Preferring to be neither used nor destroyed, Keira takes charge of her destiny and enters the hidden world of the Guardians of the Akasha.

Fighting side by side with the battle-scarred Marco Santana, they race from London to Argentina and a castle in the forests of the Czech Republic to find the source of all knowledge and prevent the fabric of time from unraveling.

Guardians Of The Akasha by Celia Stander

Rating: 4/5

My Review:
     I was gifted this book from the author in exchange for and honest review so here it is.
First of all I want to say that I loved this cover it really drew me in and I am such a sucker for a horse I just loved it, also since the horse really is in the book I must also say that I love a man on a horse :).
When I started reading I thought that the different points of view jumping around would be confusing but it was done in such a way as to reveal small bits of information to the reader and I was not confused at all. I found the idea new and fresh and I was refreshed by the fact that it was different from so much I have read in the past and I really liked that. I liked Keira and her love interest Marco and I was rooting for them all the way to come together and defeat evil, but unlike many other books I have read I didn't feel a connection to any of the other characters, that being said I liked Keira's growth throughout the book she let a very painful event make her stronger and more determined instead of letting it beat her.
There was a bit of a slow period for me but when Keira returned and plans were made I was sucked right back in.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I would like to once again thank the author for the pleasure of reading her novel. 

The Sun Dwellers (The Dwellers 3)

    

The Sun Dwellers (The Dwellers 3) by David Estes

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Summary:

With those she's closest to dying around her, Adele embarks on a secret mission to the Sun Realm to assassinate the President. Along the way she'll uncover secrets about her relationship with Tristan that she might not be ready to face. 

Tristan has a secret, too, one that's been eating him up inside ever since he met Adele. Will he reveal all, and risk the loss of friendship and love at a time when he needs it the most?

At the same time, Adele's mother, General Rose, must lead her soldiers into battle to face the sun dweller army in the hopes of holding them off until Adele can complete her mission. Can she outlast the strength of President Nailin's elite fighting force?

There's only one truth in their world: someone must die.

My Review:
 I read book one for a read to review and was instantly hooked and I was so excited to finally get a chance to jump back into the wonderful world David Estes created, and join these characters I have become so invested in on the final leg of their journey to end a war and reunite the tri-realms and OMG did I enjoy every step of this adventure.
 I found myself very attached to many of these characters, the rag tag group of friends were dedicated to each other and their mission. I loved how they faced everything with a tiny bit of humor to break  the otherwise constant threat of danger sometimes even I forgot what they were supposed to be doing when they would stop to share a laugh, and it also got them through many a hardship:

"A Joke. It's like a key part of our survival - our ability to laugh. As important as food or water or sleep.The thing we've all needed..."

It may not be everyone's way to deal but it helped these guys and also me the reader getting a break from heartache to have a laugh.
 I thought this book was a perfect blend of humor, heartache, love, and determination I just can't say enough good things. I really enjoyed this whole series and what a crazy ending one I never saw coming after a crazy ride of emotions through this series I just want to know WHAT NOW?? I am still stocked stunned and thinking about it. 
 I was very excited to see a sneak peek of Fire Country the sister series to this at the back and I read it and now I am more excited. It was released yesterday and looks great so get your copy soon, but since I have a Kobo I will have to wait a bit but dont you wait it looks Awesome:

Summary:In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely. 

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. 
As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun