SAVE THE DATE
Author: Jenny B. Jones
Source: BookSneeze
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595545395
ISBN-13: 978-1595545398

SUMMARY:


When Alex and Lucy pick out wedding invitations, they wonder if they can be printed in vanishing ink.

Former NFL star Alex Sinclair is a man who has it all–except the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancee in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy will find her heart on the line–and maybe even her life. When God asks Alex and Lucy to scrap their playbook and follow his rules, will they finally say, “I do”?

MY THOUGHTS:

I was a little concerned about reading this because it is classified as a Christian Romance. Now don’t get me wrong! I don’t have anything against Christians–I am one–but I don’t like my books to preach to me as I read a story.  Even though this book does have a lot of religious talk to it, I didn’t feel as though it was preaching to me and telling me how I should be.  It still had the feel of the contemporary romance that I was seeking.

I did feel the book to be a little predictable at times though.  It didn’t leave much for the imagination, and that made it fluffy and sweet.  Not much suspense really to keep you excited about the read, but one that keeps you interested enough to finish the book.

I liked the characters of Alex and Lucy.  Both were great to read about and I loved them together.  Not a book I would reread again, but not bad for rainy days when you need a sweet book to read.

MY RATING:

 
Okay book!  Perfect for a rainy day! 3 STARS

SOMETHING WICKED
A Living in Eden Novel #2
Author: Michelle Rowen
Source: Purchased

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 042523746X
ISBN-13: 978-0425237465

SUMMARY:

Living in Eden isn’t exactly heaven on earth…
 
Darrak, the demon inside of Eden Riley, is able to take physical shape during the day. And Eden wouldn’t mind getting her hands on him-if it wasn’t a threat to her immortal soul. But while trying to rid themselves of the curse that binds them, they could get the distance they need…or each have their own private hell to pay.

MY THOUGHTS:

Something Wicked is the second book in A Living In Eden series by author Michelle Rowen.  In the first book, we read about Darrak possessing Eden’s body and learning about the witch’s curse that he has.  We learned that he is a Demon who is slowly killing Eden by sucking away her life energy whether he wants to or not.  Darrak has been possessing people for over 300 years and within that time, he has slowly begun to acquire some humanity.

While trying to find a powerful wizard to break the curse, Eden and Darrak run into another archdemon, who just so happens to be Darraks best friend from Hell.  While, Theo was as bad as a Demon visiting Earth can be, I still enjoyed his character enough to see what was going to happen between Darrak and Theo.  I wanted to know if Theo was going to be the typical Demon and betray everyone he knows.  The addition of a new neighbor next to Edens apartment was also a nice story that intertwined with the plot.  Considering who the new neighbor is, it makes for some interesting reading once Darrak and Eden figure it out.

Now just because Darrak and Eden aren’t suppose to be romantically involved, doesn’t mean the book lets us down on the sexy factor!  The scenes that are in the book are smoking hot and can make you envious for your own Demon!

While I liked this book as a sequel, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book.  Darrak did have his Demon personality out more in this book than his humanity personality.  There were times I just wanted to have Eden exorcise him and end it already because of his smart ass attitude and lies.  But just as I was hoping Eden would call Demon-Busters-Are-Us,  Darrak changes my feelings with his smooth talking persona.

While I still enjoyed the first book better than this one, I am still looking forward to the final book in the series.  Their are some storyline plots that I just need to know about, such as the mysterious captive in the dungeon, and I need to know if this sexy couple is going to get their happily ever after!

MY RATING:

Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

 

THE DEMON IN ME
A Living in Eden Novel #1
Author: Michelle Rowen
Source: Purchased

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425234681
ISBN-13: 978-0425234686

SUMMARY:

Hell hath no fury…

Fate has led Eden Riley to become a “psychic consultant” to the police, even though her abilities are unreliable at best. Those paranormal powers are about to get her into a jam she couldn’t have predicted: After her hunky police detective partner guns down a serial killer in front of her, Eden realizes that she’s quite literally no longer alone. A voice in her head introduces himself as Darrak. He’s a demon. But not in a bad way!

…Like a woman possessed.

Darrak lost his original body three hundred years ago, thanks to a witch’s curse. This is the first time he’s been able to speak directly to a host, plus there’s a bonus: Eden’s psychic energy helps him to take form during daylight hours. He wants to use this chance to find a way to break his curse – finally. Otherwise, Eden’s going to have to learn to live with this sexy demon … like it or not.

But she thinks she might like it.

MY THOUGHTS:

After falling in love with the author’s other books, I was excited to start another series by her.  Michelle Rowen always has the ability to create a new world with witty humor, fun characters and all at a great pace to keep me interested from beginning to end.  With this series, we meet Eden Riley.  Eden has a small touch of psychic in her that she has been using to help the police in unsolved cases.  In her first case with the police, she failed them.  Now as she tries again with the next case, she find herself working with a skeptical detective named Ben who happens to be a “Ken Doll” looking model.  To say she has a crush on him is putting it mildly.  When they enter a serial killers home to uncover clues, Eden finds herself face to face with the killer.  After Ben shoots the killer, Eden is overcome with black smoke that only she can see and quickly finds out that it was a cursed Demon that has now taken up residence in her body. 

Eden is the only one that can hear Darrak since he is literally living inside her body. After centuries of not being able to communicate with his hosts, Darrak is excited to finally have someone who can help him break a Black Witches curse that condemned this archdemon to his current predicament.  Since Eden is part psychic, Darrak can also take human form outside of her body during the daylight hours.  

The author did not disappoint with the fun and witty dialogue with this series.  Darrak was sexy, funny and oh so bad but in a good way.  You couldn’t help but feel the same way Eden does toward the demon.  She goes through shock, disbelief and eventually trust and love with the demon. 

With a fun plot, sexy demon and a psychic who is as skeptical as a non believer can be, this book will take you on a roller coaster of laughter, suspense and all out fun.  Darrak is a demon who could posses me anytime and take up permanent residence in my body! A well done beginning novel to a series that is sure to be a hit and one I look forward to reading the rest of!

MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

DARKFEVER
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Source: Library

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Dell (August 28, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0440240980
ISBN-13: 978-0440240983

SUMMARY:

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

MY THOUGHTS:

I admit, I had no interest in really reading this series until I kept seeing everyone chatting about the final book in the series on Twitter, Blogs, and well…everywhere!  So, I finally caved and requested the first book from the library.  I waited on requesting the rest in the series because either I will like the series enough to buy them all, or I will not enjoy it enough to continue.  Needless to say, I have already put my order in to Amazon to receive the rest of the books in the series.


At first, the book seemed to progress at a slow pace.  Mac is telling us the story of how it began and how the phone call she receives changes her life.  When she is notified that her sister has been murdered in Ireland, it crushes her.  Especially finding out later on that her sister also tried contacting her hours before her death on Mac’s cell phone.  Mac had dropped her phone in the water so she was unable to get the messages from her sister until after her death.  Determined to bring her sisters case out of the unsolved files in Ireland, Mac journey’s to the last city and place her sister was at. 


I was disappointed that it took so long for Mac to run into Barrons.  I had heard everyone stating how sexy and hot Barrons was and when they first meet, Jericho seemed cold and full of himself.  Throughout the entire book I kept wondering what everyone saw in this character and how they could think he was all that and more.  Yet, as I devoured the rest of the book and got sucked into the mystery of the series, I found Barrons growing on me.  Especially when near the end of the book, Jericho is painting her nails and taking care of Mac.  It showed me he had a caring side to him that you know he doesn’t show often or to many people. 


That also brings me to the sexy scenes involving V’Lane.  Now I will say right off the bat, these scenes were hot!  The simple fact that he could just do that to Mac so easily was amusing yet sexy at the same time. V’Lane seems to be warmer in the romance department than Barrons at the moment, but I will trust in the remarks of fellow reviewers and readers that Barrons is the ultimate package in this department.  


Will I continue to read this series? Yes.  Mainly because I still want to learn more of the mystery and unsolved questions that the book has left me with.  Of course, knowing that Barrons will have some sexiness in future books doesn’t hurt or sway me in the least!  I have caught the “Fever” of the series!

“I already gave a copy of this recording to the Dublin Gardai,” I told him, as I fished my cell phone out of my purse and thumbed up my saved messages.  “They’re working to track down the man she was involved with.” See Mac bluff. Better than See Mac run. Way better than See Mac get her stupid self killed.

I glanced at my watch.  Indecision over my outfit was making me late for my midnight appointment with Barrons.  I wasn’t going to have time to dash to the church down the street and dab holy water at my wrists and behind my ears: my version of Eau de Don’tbiteme. 

MY RATING:

ANGEL
A Maximum Ride Novel #7
Author: James Patterson
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (February 14, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031603620X
ISBN-13: 978-0316036207

SUMMARY:

In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they’re trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to believe it. 

Fang travels the country collecting his own gang of evolved humans, but the two separate flocks must unite to defeat a frightening doomsday cult whose motto is Save the Planet: Kill the Humans. And this time, the true heroine, for once, might just be little Angel.

MY THOUGHTS:

If you are a fan of the Maximum Ride novels by James Patterson, then I can assume you have been like me in the hopes that the release of this book would hurry and get here.  I stalked the authors web page, Goodreads, Amazon and the publishers website in anticipation of hearing anything about the release date, cover and summary for this book.  After the last book, titled Fang, I was left with tears and in a serious need of the next installment to help get me over the ending of the book..  I needed to know what would happen next.

When I received this ARC copy in the mail, I was over the moon! I couldn’t help putting it as the next book in line for me to read.  That is how much I have enjoyed this series in the past.  I finished my household chores and tucked the kids into bed.  Then I stayed up late reading this book.  Yet after the first couple of chapters, I realized my anticipation for the novel was sliding downhill.

While I enjoy all of the characters in The Maximum Ride Series, Fang and Max have always been my favorites.  I was cheering for the two of them to become a couple even if they were young.  I wanted them to have that relationship more than anything.  They had earned it and they needed some happiness.  After reading Fang, I was still hoping that the happiness would return.  Yes, we get to see Fang in this book, but not in the way we are all hoping  for.  He is still trying to gather his own flock and Max is still trying to deal with the fallout of Fang not being a part of hers.

While the story stays true to the non-stop action, with climatic short chapters as in the previous books, the plot of this one was not as well executed as it should have been.  I felt the author used this book as a “filler” book for the story.  It felt like he was rushed and needed to put this book out there to keep the fans satisfied until the final book in the series is released in 2012.  It didn’t seem that story had much progression to it to warrant it as a “next in the series” book.

Overall, I expected so much more out of this. More angst, romance, adventure and actual plot.  I wish the author could have brought us so much more to enjoy the ride of the series.  Instead I felt the author let us down with this installment.  Will I read the final book in the series that will be released in 2012? Yes. For one I want to finish the series that I have loved, but I also want to know if the author is saving the best for last!

MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS