Blog Tour: Tempest Unleashed

Title: Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 352 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers to Tempest Rising, the first book in the series.

Goodreads Summary: Tempest Maguire is happy with her decision to embrace her mermaid nature and live among her mother’s clan within the ocean’s depths. Even though training to one day ascend the throne for the aging mermaid queen is rigorous, she finds refuge in the arms of Kona, the selkie who first opened her up to her mermaid side. But when word comes that one of her brothers has been gravely injured on land, Tempest immediately rushes to his side—which also brings her back to her old flame, Mark. And in her absence, a deadly battle begins raging at the hands of Tempest’s old nemesis, the sea witch Tiamat. As the dangerous war erupts, Tempest’s two loves—Kona and Mark, sea and land—will collide for the first time, both to protect her and to force her to choose.

Tempest Maguire is finding out that the grass is not always greener on the other side. After making the painful but solid decision to leave her life on land and embrace her mermaid heritage in the sea, Tempest is now having doubts that she did the right thing. Life in the mermaid kingdom is not going the way she thought it would: Tempest is constantly at odds with Hailana, the scheming mermaid queen she serves, mer politics are treacherous and she has started having arguments with Kona, her selkie boyfriend.

Tempest Unleashed, the sequel to Tempest Rising, takes place about eight months after the first book and is set mostly underwater which is awesome! Deebs’ world building is really cool and I enjoyed reading about the places and creatures she created. Like Tempest Rising, this second book is no fairytale. It is dark with war, death, nightmarish creatures and of course, Tiamat, the sea witch who has gotten even stronger since Tempest last battled her.

Tempest is a girl torn in two. When she is on land, she can’t resist the ocean’s pull on her and when she is in the sea, she misses her family and craves to be with Mark, her ex-boyfriend. It does not help that she and Kona are having problems stemming primarily from his wanting to protect her. Tempest, insisting that she can take care of herself, chafes at Kona’s warnings about her hot new trainer: a merman that Kona knows and justifiably hates. There is a huge love triangle involving Tempest, Mark and Kona. Thankfully, Tempest does choose by the end of the book so we are not left hanging!

Tempest Unleashed has lots of action and for the romance lovers, lots of kissing! Its fun to see Tempest come into her powers and use them in such a kick butt way. There is definitely more to explore in a third book in the series which will probably come out next year.

Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.

Book Review: Halflings

Title: Halflings by Heather Burch

Release Date: Feb. 1, 2012
Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 288 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary: After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

Halflings gets off to fast start. Our main character, Nikki Youngblood, is painting in the woods when she is attacked by enormous, otherworldly creatures called hellhounds. Even though her death seems imminent, Nikki bravely faces the monsters until three gorgeous boys come to her rescue. The boys Mace, Raven and Vine are Halflings: the product of fallen angels and humans and are outcasts in both Heaven and on Earth.

Nikki is an interesting character. She portrayed as a tough, no-nonsense girl, one who has a black belt in karate, drives a motorbike and prefers boyfriend jeans and vintage tees to dresses and make-up. I had a hard time identifying with Nikki mainly because I think the character rejects anything feminine. For the record, I think it’s possible to rock at karate and be into bikes while still being girly. In contrast, Nikki’s best friend, the one who is very girly encourages her to be more feminine, is portrayed as being shallow and boy crazy. I understand and appreciate the message that the author is sending to teen girls but this tomboy character is becoming a bit of a stereotype in YA these days.

While the author tells us that Nikki is a fighter, she does little fighting but gets rescued a lot by the Halflings. There isn’t a huge love triangle here, Nikki is more involved with one boy than with the other and insta-love is involved. I liked the boys. Mace, considered the good one, is more idealistic and while Raven is supposed to be bad, he just seemed jaded and snarky to me.

I didn’t find the angel mythology in Halflings offensive, especially after recently reading two angel books that I did not like at all (Embrace and Fallen). While the mythology had some holes in it, I just went with it and hope those holes will be filled in with the next book in the series.

The romance is Halflings is sweet and the action is exciting. Halflings will undoubtedly appeal to younger teens (its intended audience) who will especially like the three swoon-worthy boys, forbidden love, the quasi love-triangle and paranormal romance. I seriously doubt they will have the issues I did. Parents can also breathe easy as this is an angel book with no questionable content and even has a solid message about putting the greater good above serving yourself.

Despite my issues with Halflings, I do recommend it to teens who love paranormal romance. The ending leaves a lot of questions and a huge opening for the second book in the series, Guardian, which comes out in October.

Content: Kissing and violence.

My Rating: Just Fine

Book Review: Balthazar

Title: Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Release Date: March 6, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 374 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary: Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.

If you love paranormal YA books like I do, you have heard of the Evernight series by Claudia Gray. I even own the first book in the series but just have not had a chance to read it. When I got a copy of Balthazar (a spin-off title from the Evernight series) for review, I was a little worried that I would be lost having not read the original series first. I’m thrilled to tell you that my concerns were completely unfounded!

Skye Tierney, a former student at Evernight Academy, is having disturbing visions where she sees violent deaths and feels what the people in the vision felt. Skye writes to her friend from Evernight, Lucas, for help and he sends Balthazar to see if he can help Skye with her problem.

As Balthazar arrives in Skye’s small town in upstate New York, she is being attacked by vampire, one from his past. What should have been a quick visit to help an acquaintance with an issue turns into a full time mission to keep Skye from being killed or worse by an extremely evil tribe of vamps led by Balthazar’s maker himself.

Portions of the book are told in flashbacks and so you get to see how a 19-year-old Puritan boy became a 400 year-old vampire. I love Balthazar and even though I have not read Evernight, I’m so happy he got his own book. Balty is ridiculously swoon worthy and while he is a teeny bit brooding over his past and what he is, he is not overly emo. I love how he treats Skye and while his reasons for avoiding a romantic relationship with her are valid, it’s easy to see how much he cares for her.

The relationship between Skye and Balthazar is my favorite aspect of the book. Having known each other before, it’s easy and natural for these two to click. It also helps that Skye had a huge crush on Balthazar when they were at Evernight but she never acted on it.

Unlike a lot of girls in YA these days, Skye is very smart and capable. Balthazar does end up saving her a few times but that’s only because Skye is not always a match for a tribe of evil vampires. I’m happy to say that does hold her own a few times.

Balthazar is fast paced, exciting and so romantic. Claudia Gray's writing is solid and I raced through this book. If you have been holding back on reading Balthazar because you have not read the Evernight series, don’t. The book works perfectly by itself and has actually made me want to read the original series even more. There is no cliffhanger ending and my heart broke a little bit when I found this is a standalone book. I would love to know what happens next with Skye and Balty.

Content: Kissing, implied sex and violence.

My Rating: Really Good!

Book Review: Obsidian

Title: Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout

Release Date: Dec. 6, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 226 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Goodreads Summary: Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Jennifer Armentrout is quickly becoming known as a hot writer in the YA/paranormal/urban fantasy market and with good reason. Her novels are very exciting and highly entertaining. Obsidian is no different.

I am a character driven reader so I will talk about the story a little and the characters a lot. While Obsidian is science fiction, it is light on the sci-fi and heavy on the romance and action. I have not read a lot of YA paranormal romance that involves aliens so Obsidian provided a nice change for me. Armentrout gives you just enough back story on Dee and Daemon to answer basic questions but I am hoping the next book will give us more history on them.

The story is told from Katy’s perspective and she is a very likable character. Katy is a quiet girl who likes to read, blog (yes guys, she has a book review blog!) and garden. She is also, loyal, brave, spunky and fights back when someone tries to put her down (love that). Her father’s death from cancer three years before left her sad and lonely and created distance between her and her mom. The family dynamics in this book are interesting. While the main characters are all teenagers, parents or guardians of any sort are rarely around. Katy spends a lot of time by herself so when she meets Dee, Daemon’s twin sister who seems just as lonely as she is, the two form an instant bond, much to Daemon’s chagrin.

Katy and Daemon have an immediate physical attraction to each other, but thankfully, no insta-love. As a matter of fact, these two are at each other throats (and not in a good way) throughout most of the book. Daemon is very attractive but such a jerk! Normally, I not a huge fan of this type of male lead but Daemon is, well, complicated. While he never mistreats Katy, he is very rude and mean to her verbally. Hot or not, no girl should put up with a guy like Daemon but to Katy’s credit, she does not stick around because of him but because she values her friendship with Dee. 

Daemon attempts to push Katy away from him and his family are understandable under the circumstances but I will admit that I did not fall for him right away. Katy is no pushover and matches his insults with her own. The snarky verbal tennis match between these two is one of my favorite aspects of the novel. In the hands of another writer, I would have hated Daemon but somehow, Ms. Amentrout worked him under my skin and I’m happy to say that he has grown on me.

While Katy, Daemon and Dee and well rounded characters, there are secondary characters that I would love know more about in upcoming novels. Obsidian is a fast paced, exciting, sexy and fun read and I am really looking forward to the other books in the Lux series.

Content: Sexual situations, heavy profanity, violence and underage drinking. Obsidian is one of those books that walks the fine line between YA and adult urban fantasy. There is a ton of sexual tension between Katy and Daemon and their steamy scenes are definitely more appropriate for older teens and adults.

My Rating: Really Good!

Book Review: Vanish

Title: Vanish by Sophie Jordan
Release Date: Sept. 6, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 304 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC from publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

I loved Firelight. It was original, exciting and hands down, one of my favorite books of 2010. Needless to say, Vanish was one of my most anticipated books for this year and it delivered.

Vanish picks up right where Firelight left off, with Jacinda, Tamra and their mom fleeing Chaparral and returning to the pride with Cassian. When they get home, Jacinda is heartbroken and misses Will terribly but to make matters worse, she is shunned and treated as outcast by the other Draki when they find out she had a relationship with a hunter.

There is so much tension and angst in Vanish. Jacinda has to choose between being with the boy she loves and the safety of the entire pride; between doing what everyone in the pride wants and expects her to do and doing what will truly make her happy. While I do not like the fact that Jacinda vacillates between two boys, it is understandable. Her choices are hard and there is so much at stake.

The characters, especially Cassian and Tamra, are more developed in Vanish which is great because neither were particularly likable in the first book. Because the book is set in the pride, we meet more Draki with cool paranormal abilities. The story is very exciting and fast paced with some unexpected twists thrown in.

I have to warn you that like Firelight, Vanish ends with a huge cliffhanger. I hate that I have to wait until next year to find out what happens but I bet it’s going to be fiery and explosive!

Content: Kissing and violence

Book Tour: Spellbound (and Giveaway!)

Title and Author: Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 324 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 stars

What’s a girl to do when meeting The One means she’s cursed to die a horrible death? Life hasn’t been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she’s irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight. But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can’t stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma’s been having the oddest dreams. Visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Spellbound is more than another nice paranormal romance. It is fun, exciting, fresh and so enjoyable!

I love the characters, they are easily the best part of the story! Emma has had a hard and sad life. You really root for her to get the guy, to break the curse and vanquish the evil high school girls. Her voice is the best. She is sarcastic and funny and I loved the cultural references. I liked how she started out crushing on Brandon and as she hung out with him, it grew into more. Brandon is so very swoon worthy. He is a handsome bad boy who does not care what anybody thinks about him. He and Emma are so great together.

While the characters rock, the story is good too! The mystery and the magic that tie Emma and Brendan together is fun to discover and well told.

Another great thing about this book? The ending is completely satisfying! Even though there could be a sequel, Emma and Brendan’s story is complete! It has been a long time since I read a standalone book and I enjoyed it.

Content: Profanity, kissing, underage drinking, violence. 

Spellbound Giveaway!

Want a finished copy of Spellbound? Leave a comment below with your email. Extra entry for GFC followers, just leave a separate comment. Contest ends July 5, 2011. US/Canada Only. Must be 13+.

iPod Nano Giveaway!

1. In order to enter to win a iPod nano including the Spellbound Playlist and covered in a GelaSkin of Spellbound's cover art, you must collect the pink highlighted words the text messages between Brendan and Emma that are provided each day at the individual tour stops. The daily words can be joined together in sequential order to create the winning secret message. Once you've constructed the winning secret message, you will need to enter that message on Spellbound's tour home page.
2. No purchase, affiliation, status as follower to a certain blog or any other association is required to enter. 
3. Full rules for the contest can be found at the Spellbound tour home page.
4. Winner of the iPod give-away will be announced on Cara's homepage on Tuesday, July 5th.

Remember to check out all the stops to get the rest of the text messages!

June, 13th - The Page Turners / Character Interview , Brendan
June 14th - Candace's Book Blog / Guest Post
June 15th - Baffled Books
June 16th - Hooked To Books /Guest Post, Playlist
June 17th - Truly Bookish

June, 20th - Paranormal Opinion
June 21st  - Mission to Read /Interview with Cara
June 22nd - Reading Angel / Character Interview, Emma
June 23rd -  Miss Page Turners
June 24th -  Books At Midnight

June, 27th - Pure Imagination
June 28th - (Spellbound Book Birthday!) - The Unread Reader special Guest post
June 29th - Bookish Delights
June 30th - Mimosa Stimulus / Guest post
July 1st - writers write, right? /special Guest post

Tuesday, July 5th: Announcement of the big prize winner on Cara's Site!

Book Review: Abandon

Title and Author: Abandon by Meg Cabot
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Point
Pages: 320 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3.5 stars
Source: Library

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back. But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid. Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away, especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

I have been excited to read this book because it’s my first Meg Cabot book and the description and the cover are awesome.  Additionally, Abandon is marketed as the myth of Persephone, darkly re-imagined. As soon as I read that line, I was sold. I find the combination of Greek myth and paranormal romance irresistible and lately, I have been drawn to quite a few books fitting this description.

While I do like Abandon, I feel it is a bit misrepresented. It’s very loosely based on the Hades/Persephone myth. John Hayden is not Hades and Pierce is not Persephone. The underworld that we see just a glimpse of is not like the myth.

Pierce is a likeable character. She makes some bad decisions and puts herself in bad situations but she does have good intentions. She has been through a lot and is ready to make a new start. We see John briefly through the book and even though we get his back story, we don’t really get to know him. He is a sorely underdeveloped hero. Other characters in the book are underdeveloped as well. We know there are things going on with Pierce’s cousin Alex and her friend Kayla, but their issues are not explored.

Abandon is a good start to what I hope will be a great series but that’s all it feels like: a start. I am looking forward to the next book to see how the story really gets going.

Content: Some swearing, kissing, violence

Book Review: Falling Under

Title and Author: Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: New American Library
Pages: 324 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 2 stars
Source: Purchased

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams. As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear. And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.

I've seen many books compared to Twilight and while I think some of the comparisons are a stretch, Falling Under struck me as the closest I have seen in a while. I liked Twilight so by no means is this comparison a dig. Falling Under is darker than Twilight and with a bit of the Hades and Persephone mythology thrown in.

When Theia sees Haden for the first time, she is understandably drawn to him since she has been having very lucid dreams about him. Haden tells her he is not a good guy and she should stay away from him. She knows there is something dark and dangerous about him but she just can’t resist him. He even calls her lamb.

There are some really great things about this book. The image of the burning man, the surreal descriptions of the dream world and Haden’s world, and the mythological aspects of the story (I love Greek myth!).

There were other things I didn’t really care for. Haden treats Theia really poorly for most of the book. He is very gentlemanly in the dream world but when they are in the real world, he flirts with her one minute and openly seduces other girls the next. Seduces them. In her face. The really sad part is Theia just keeps coming back for more. He throws jealous fits and is possessive and controlling. I get his reasoning behind it but why bother flirting with her in the first place? Because he can’t resist her?

Then there is Theia’s boy crazy, sexually aggressive best friend, Donny. It is such a double standard to have a female character treat boys the way Donny does. If she were a boy using girls for sex, she would be vilified, not seen as being liberated, empowered or whatever she is supposed to be.

The book does end well and I especially enjoyed the portion told from Haden’s perspective. I grew to like both his character and Theia’s a lot more by then. Falling Under does end with a bit of a cliffhanger so I expect there will be a sequel. On a side note, the cover of this book is amazing!

Content: Profanity, sexual situations, violence

Review of Hereafter

Author: Tara Hudson
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 416 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC from publisher through NetGalley

Can there truly be love after death? Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive. Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

If you are in the mood for a spooky paranormal romance, Hereafter may be the book for you. Amelia’s existence is really sad. She is achingly lonely, scared and confused about who she is and even how long she has been dead. When she rescues Joshua from drowning, for the first time in her ghostly existence, she feels something and the two of them form a bond. She is immediately drawn to him and he becomes her anchor in the living world.

Amelia and Joshua’s romance is very sweet. He helps her find out more about herself and her past, which is also sad. Hereafter is a romance, but it also has themes of the loss and emptiness left behind when a loved one dies.

This book has some dark elements to it including demon possession and some trips to a chilling netherworld with wraith like creatures and a portal that seemingly leads to hell. We see hints that Amelia is more special than your average ghost, but the book ends before we really find out why she seems to have extra abilities.  

Hereafter does not end with a cliffhanger, but with a promise of a deeper story to come. I have lots of questions and hope that they will be explored in upcoming books in the series.

Content: Kissing, violence