{Review} Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: 18 October 2011

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Kindle Edition

Pages: 281

Rating:  5- Wonderful

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

My Thoughts:

 I had eagerly anticipated Half-Blood in 2011 and I cannot believe that I waited so long to read it! Half-Blood is something completely and utterly different to anything that I have ever read before and this book demands the reader’s attention and does not let you out of its clutches!

Jennifer did a great job of tying Greek mythology into a modern day story which completely blew me away.  I for one find Greek myths to be interesting but not so much so that I will go out of my way to read a book based on such myths, yet I found this book to be so addictive and fun to read, I am sure that this book will appeal to readers who may not like Greek Mythology as it is not dumped on you, it is elegantly woven into the story.

The characters in this book were nothing but awesome! I especially enjoyed the protagonists traits; Alex—the main character is feisty and snarky, which I absolutely loved. The fact that she had a quick tongue and an attitude that you could only absolutely love or loathe.

Jennifer sure knows how to write awesome action scenes and romance scenes that can only make your heart melt. Her writing is fantastic and made for a fast paced and fun novel that I absolutely loved; Half-Blood. I am glad that I read her debut and will read the sequel soon!

Half-Blood is filled with romance, action, adventure and intrigue and I recommend this to all of you who are looking for an awesome paranormal book that will remind you why you loved reading in the first place.

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{Feature & Follow} 1

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to connect book bloggers; in turn allowing them to connect with other readers, gain new followers and most of all to be social in order to make some new friends. This meme is hosted byParajunkee & Alison Can Read.

Q: Have you ever had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.

A: Nope. I have found that it has been the other way around where I hate a character at first and then grow to love the character later on in the series. That character being-- Alec from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I did not like him at first due to the fact that he was jealous of Clary and I began to like him once he became Magnus' partner. Maybe Magnus put a spell on me?

Happy Follow Friday!

{Review} Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Release Date: 7 February 2012

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile 

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 330

Rating:  4- Great

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

My Thoughts:

 I had very few books about witches before deciding to dive into Born Wicked. What initially drew me in was the fact that the cover was so intense, yet so beautiful and I felt that it set the tone for the book perfectly. Born Wicked was a captivating debut and one that I most certainly enjoyed thoroughly.

Cate was an interesting character that made an incredible perspective to read from and I can only thank Spotswood’s wonderful writing for making Cate such a great character with an addictive voice. Jessica’s writing style was great, but the one thing I found is that sometimes I found some of the scenes to drag on far too long for my liking, however, with that being said; I really do love her writing as it was rich in description that was captivating and beautiful all at once.

Born Wicked takes place in a historical setting, which was evident whilst I read the book, but Spotswood had this great way of making me enjoy the story as if it were a modern tale. I’m not quite sure how to explain it other than: this book, despite the historic setting, will appeal to the modern day audience.

I loved this book and all of its characters and the scenes in which they took part, which made the book as addictive as it was for me. There were some great romance scenes that managed to get my heart racing more than a few times. For some reason I found this book to be filled with suspense and I loved every second of it, eagerly awaiting what plot twist would come next!

Born Wicked is a fantastic debut about witches that were done extremely well and made this book all the more enjoyable! This book is definitely one of my favorites!

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{Waiting on Wednesday} 21: Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time.
Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday—to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner... and so is Aiden.
If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"—which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time—she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.
But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she’s caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.
Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

I have yet to read Pure; the second book in the Covenant series, but I loved Half-Blood so much that I can't even wait for Deity! Deity is bound to be filled with great action and sizzling romance!

 What are you Waiting on this Wednesday?

Leave a link and a I'll be sure to check out your post!

{Review} The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: eGalley

Pages: 504

Rating:  4- Great

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. 
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. 
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

 My Thoughts:

This was the first book that I had ever read by Julie Kagawa and I found this book to be absolutely thrilling and extremely interesting. I sure as hell, want to read her other books as this was so addictive and I would love to read more of her work.

This was stunning way to start a new series. The Immortal Rules was an original story that I can only say one negative thing about, and that was the fact that this book was long and it felt like it could have been several book that were joined together. However, it was still extremely addictive and fun to read, despite the length.

Allie was a kick-butt character and I think she is very relatable as she has struggled, basically—since birth, and we all struggle in life and it was easy to admire her as a character, as her struggles only made her stronger and more independent and it was incredibly interesting to see how she handled all the obstacles she had to overcome and the curve-balls she had thrown at her.

Kagawa did a great job with keeping me entertained throughout this book as she knows exactly when to throw curve-balls, throughout this book there were mini climaxes that made the book so enjoyable, especially with her flawless writing style!

This book is about vampire’s and that may throw some people off, but whether you are burned out or not, I suggest you read this because this book was a dystopian in my opinion that was what is was due to the vampires, having over run the city and they now use people for blood. The concept of this book was incredible and so much fun as it added the thrill of the action and adventure.

The character’s were so much fun to read about, I adored Caleb and could imagine him perfectly in my mind, if you love vampires, babies, kick-butt heroines and dystopian societies; I recommend that you read this amazing book!

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{Review} Perception by Kim Harrington

Release Date: 1 March 2012

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Kindle Edition

Pages: 288

Rating:  5- Wonderful

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you? 
Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past. 
Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her. 
But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back? 
One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

My Thoughts:

 In Clarity, I instantly fell for the characters in the book and found myself addicted to the mystery and intrigue that can be found within Harrington’s writing. I was so excited when I got the chance to immerse myself in her writing, in Perception.

Perception starts off pretty much where Clarity ended and follows a new set of events. The first chapter was short and extremely enticing because it was an exciting little glimpse at what was to come. Another factor that made this book so addictive was the fact that every chapter pretty much has a cliff hanger of some sort and it made the book so entertaining as it meant that there were many suspenseful events that could keep any reader entertained.

Clarity is an interesting character that has developed from the first book in the series—to me that is. I feel like the whole cast of characters is just as fun to read about as they were initially and even more so due to the new circumstances they find themselves in.

Kim Harrington’s writing is simple, effective and addictive. Simple as that. No matter what I believe that her books will always be addictive due to the fact that she is able to weave mystery into her stories that will keep you guessing—I often found that I was guessing who did what and trying to figure out who was suspicious and who wasn’t and I turned out to be wrong sometimes and others, I had been wrong.

Throughout this book, I was on the edge of my seat and wanted more! So am eagerly anticipating Kim Harrington’s next book and hopefully it will be filled with just as much intrigue, mystery and suspense as Clarity and Perception have been!

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{In My Mailbox} 16

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at: The Story Siren. You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM Page.

In My Mailbox This Week:

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (read my review here)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (read my review here)

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr (read my review here)

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (read my review here)

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

This IMM was a catch up post from not posting an IMM last week or the week before, I also received more; but will be saving it for next week's IMM post!

What did you receive in your Mailbox this week?