Atlantis Rising by Gloria Craw

****

From Entangled Teen:

We’ve stayed hidden too long…

I am different. I have always been different, but no one can know or my life will be in danger. So I hide in plain sight, wearing drab clothes and thick glasses and trying to be invisible. I’m so good at hiding, no one has ever noticed me. Until Ian…the mysterious and oh-so-cute boy I know I need to avoid.

Now I have been seen. And more terrifying still, I am wanted—by those who would protect me and those who would destroy everything and everyone I love. But if they’re all terrified about who I am, wait until they see what I can do…

Atlantis Rising makes it onto my best of 2015 list (so far).  I was in a heck of a reading slump until Entangled sent me this unknown book by an unknown author and I figured, what the heck.  Holy Thor, this book drew me in like Chris Helmsworth's abs and kept me just as captivated.  I love the cast of characters - Alison, Ian and Brandy and all the supporting cast are great.  The story is engrossing and fun and the perfect way to spend a day.  If you enjoy paranormal YA, I cannot recommend this book enough.  

Atlantis Rising is about a waning group of people who are the descendants of the inhabitants of Atlantis.  Of course, there's the clueless heroine, the hottie hero, the fun, crazy BFF and of course, the completely psycho villain.  All pretty typical, but Craw puts it all together in a way that will have you laughing, crying and rooting for the good guys.  Craw's created a fascinating mythology of Atlantis, and I hope there are more stories to come!

~Shel

Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

****1/2

From Harlequin:

Every touch has its price 

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who's pretty sure things can't get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could. 

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla's powers begin to evolve, and she's offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She's finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay….

I LOVE the Dark Elements Series. JLA hooked me with Bitter Sweet Love – Dez and Jasmin's story is sweet and snarky, just the way I like them. Then White Hot Kiss – holy cow! It's super steamy for YA and I ADORE Roth! I was devastated at the end of White Hot Kiss, which made me crazy psyched for his return in Stone Cold Touch. I don't get the whole Zayne – Roth debate, to me, there is no triangle, it's Roth all the way. I was told I would feel differently after SCT, but I don't. The "relationship" between Zayne and Layla seems forced and unnatural to me. Roth and Layla just fit, so all this argument over Team Roth or Team Zayne seems like much ado about nothing to me.

Putting aside my giddiness over the wonderfully dysfunctional and frustrating Roth and the romance elements, the events of STC were shocking. The story was amazing, with love, betrayal, twisty turns and a truly emotional and wild ride. I was reeling at the end of it and have so many awesome ideas for how the trilogy will end (though none as awesome as how it WILL actually end, because I totally could not have predicted SCT). JLA is currently writing Every Last Breath, the finale of the Dark Elements Trilogy and I cannot freaking wait!!! It will be out July 2015 – I am greatly looking forward to Layla and Roth's happily ever after (I refuse to even think it may end any other way!)…

~Shel

Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer

***

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick is used to pressure.

He's the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it out for his family, and he's all that stands in the way.

His girlfriend, Hannah, gets that. She's got a kid of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could end her life without a moment's notice.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael's defiance, his family's "bad luck." Before he knows it, Michael's enemies have turned into the Merricks' enemies, and they're armed for war.

They're not interested in surrender. But Michael isn't the white flag type anyway. There will be blood on the ground tonight. . .

I love this series.  I loved Storm, Spark, Spirit and Secret.  I love the Merricks.  I love the secondary characters.  I love Becca.  I like Quinn and Adam.  I really wanted to love Sacrifice.  I was fully prepared to love Sacrifice.  And I liked Sacrifice, I just didn't love it.  The suspense and mystery were great.  I loved being back with the Merrick brothers and Hunter and even Tyler.  Becca and Quinn were absent and it certainly detracted from the story, but understandably, because this was Michael's story.  I've always said that Michael seriously needs hugs, lots and lots of hugs and it's definitely true in Sacrifice.

My biggest problem with Sacrifice was that the climax and resolution of the story came out of nowhere and felt forced.  There were all these great twists and turns and then BAM, out of no where, it's all over and how it ends is shocking, but not shocking in a good way, just forced and shocking.  

You may not feel this way.  You may read Sacrifice and come back here and say that I'm on crack - and that's cool.  To each their own.  Maybe on my second reading I will learn to love it.  I really hope Brigid Kemmerer writes more Elemental books.  I will re-read them all, over and over again and hold them close to my heart...

~Shel

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

* * 1/2

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.




Review:

Steven has always been lonely.  But he has become even more so since his mother passed away.  Kind of hard not to when no one can see you.  When he learns that his new neighbor, Elizabeth, can SEE him, he is in complete awe that he now has someone that he can talk to and relate to.  After an embarrassing and awkward first meeting, Elizabeth and Stephen embark on an intense relationship that makes them both a little scared and nervous.  When Elizabeth and Stephen are introduced to the world of Spellseekers and Cursecasters they find themselves in a dangerous situation that could either make Stephen visible or ensure his invisibility forever.

In the past, Levithan has forced me to love his characters BECAUSE of their imperfections.  Not in in spite of them.  Dash from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is the best example of this.  Stephen is no different.  It is impossible to not connect with Stephen.  His inability to socialize with anyone has made him very thoughtful and careful of everything going on around him.  It has also made him, in some ways, very socially awkward. Which is absolutely endearing.

Elizabeth was not nearly as likable.  She wasn't necessarily unlikable.  She was just....meh.  I wish I could pinpoint exactly why I didn't love her.  She was a pretty strong character is some ways.  Particularly with how she embraces her part in the cursecasting world.  But other than that she just didn't hold my interest.

I really enjoyed Andrea Cremer's writing style.  And, as you know, I love Levithan's writing style. But as good as they may be individually, together they lacked the chemistry that I've come to expect from a Levithan collaboration.  This lack of chemistry and my feelings of indifference towards the heroine, Elizabeth, made this story difficult to finish.  Disappointingly, this book was just a "meh" for me.

Nat

Moonset by Scott Tracey - Blog Tour Stop and GIVEAWAY

About the Book


MOONSET (Legacy of Moonset #1)
Moonset, a coven of such promise . . . Until they turned to the darkness.

After the terrorist witch coven known as Moonset was destroyed fifteen years ago—during a secret war against the witch Congress—five children were left behind, saddled with a legacy of darkness. Sixteen-year-old Justin Daggett, son of a powerful Moonset warlock, has been raised alongside the other orphans by the witch Congress, who fear the children will one day continue the destruction their parents started.

A deadly assault by a wraith, claiming to work for Moonset’s most dangerous disciple, Cullen Bridger, forces the five teens to be evacuated to Carrow Mill. But when dark magic wreaks havoc in their new hometown, Justin and his siblings are immediately suspected. Justin sets out to discover if someone is trying to frame the Moonset orphans . . . or if Bridger has finally come out of hiding to reclaim the legacy of Moonset. He learns there are secrets in Carrow Mill connected to Moonset’s origins, and keeping the orphans safe isn’t the only reason the Congress relocated them .. . 

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | FLUX

Review:

* * * *


I love stories about witches and warlocks.  Probably explains my love of Willow on Buffy and Magnus in the TMI and ID series.  And I have seriously enjoyed Scott Tracey’s Witch Eyes series.  So when I first saw the summary of Moonset I gleefully added its release date to my calendar. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to wait that long.  Thank you Net Galley and Flux for giving us the chance to read Moonset before the release date.  It was everything I was expecting and hoping for.

When the adults of the Moonset were killed, they left behind five orphans.  Five children that have been continuously punished by the Congress for the sins of their parents.   Oh, they haven’t been tortured or anything.  But they have been neglected.  Out of fear, the Congress has never allowed them to learn magic which in turn has left them unable to control the powers they have.  They have been moved from town to town, not allowing them to form any friendships outside their coven.  And they have had to raise themselves since their guardians only offer careless babysitting services at the very most.

Our hero, Justin Dagget, is a peacekeeper.  He is the one person that can keep peace amongst the other children of Moonset.  A trait that sometimes makes him tremendously weak and other times extremely strong.  With the exception of Malcolm, who seems to be a calm and laid back sort of guy, the other “siblings” are all emotional messes.  Bailey has ridiculously strong powers that she sometimes can’t control.  That issue doesn’t help her continuous attempts to be one of the popular kids.  Cole is socially awkward.  That awkwardness gives way to hilarious but inappropriately timed responses to stressful situations.  Some of the funniest moments in this book involve Cole.  Then there is Jenna.  Jenna is Justin’s so-called twin.  So-called because they share a father and were born minutes apart.  She is Justin’s opposite.  She is an instigator and her “in your face” and “kiss my ass” attitude make her seem an obvious target for recruitment to whatever dark forces there are at play.  Justin is the glue that holds this motley crew together.

When these five misfits are moved to Carrow Mill, Justin and his siblings find it more difficult than usual to determine who they can trust - which in their case is usually nobody.  Strange things begin to happen after their arrival and Justin is lost as to how to protect himself and his brothers and sisters.  As Justin begins to pick up pieces of a puzzle he doesn’t understand he needs to find out who in Carrow Mill is there to help them and who is not.

As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed Moonset.  The characters were extremely engaging.  The plot kept me glued to every page.  And my favorite part is the level of detail Scott Tracey put into developing his story.  My favorite examples of this are the quotes in the beginning of each chapter.  Instead of choosing existing quotes from our world, each chapter is headed by quotes from the fallen Moonset coven and testimonials from numerous books and files written and compiled after the fall of Moonset.  These are all fictional non-fiction and tell another piece of the story that isn’t necessarily included in what we read from Justin’s point of view.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next installment in the story.  Scott Tracey has yet again delivered on a great book that everyone will enjoy.


Nat




Check out the next stops on the Moonset Blog Tour! 

Week Three

Apr. 8th - Tynga's Reviews - Interview

Apr. 8th - Bibliojunkies - Review

Apr. 9th - A Dream Within A Dream - Guest Post

Apr. 9th - BookPics - Review

Apr. 10th - JeanBookNerd - Interview

Apr. 11th - Short and Sweet Reviews - Guest Post

Apr. 12th - Reader Girls - Guest Post

Apr. 13th - Unabridged Bookshelf - Review

Apr. 14th - Fiktshun - Interview

About the Author

Scott Tracey is a YA author who lived on a Greyhound for a month, wrote his illustrated autobiography at the age of six, and barely survived Catholic school (and definitely not for the reasons you might think).
He is the author of WITCH EYES, chosen as one of Amazon’s Best LGBT Books of 2011, as well as an ALA Popular Paperback in the Forbidden Romance category.  The final book in the WITCH EYES trilogy, PHANTOM EYES, will be released in the fall of 2013.
He is also the author of MOONSET, a new series which will be released April 8, 2013, as well as a contributor to the SHADOWHUNTERS & DOWNWORLDERS anthology, edited by Cassandra Clare.
His career highlights include: accidentally tripping a panic alarm which led to nearly being shot by the police; attacked in a drive-thru window by a woman wielding a baked potato, and once moving cross country for a job only to quit on the second day.
His gifts can be used for good or evil, but rather than picking a side, he strives for BOTH (in alternating capacity) for his own amusement.

LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | TUMBLR

GIVEAWAY:

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Demon Eyes by Scott Tracey

* * * * 1//2

Demons don't die without a fight...

After destroying the demon Lucien, Braden—son of Belle Dam’s most powerful warlock, Jason Thorpe—doesn’t need the power of his witch eyes to see that everything in his life is turning against him: friends, family, and even his visions. When disturbing nightmares of Lucien’s return haunt him, Braden discovers that the simmering feud between the city’s two witch dynasties is fast approaching its explosive boiling point.

While struggling to come to terms with his attraction to Trey, Catherine Lansing’s son who should be his mortal enemy, a diabolical plan starts to unveil before Braden’s eyes. Young women are disappearing from Belle Dam, and as he investigates, Braden is forced to explore the dangerous unknown power within himself. But when the truth about his family is revealed, Braden must pay a terrible price. 

When I reviewed Witch Eyes, I listed what I loved and didn’t love about the story.  But Demon Eyes?  I honestly can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like.  Scott Tracey really outdid himself this time.  Braden’s story continues with more action and strengthened characters which in turn gave me a story that I couldn’t put down.   

The cast of characters really won me over this time around.  If you have ever read a review of mine you will know that characters, more than anything, are what really draw me into a book.  Braden reminded me a lot of Sam Winchester from the show Supernatural.  If you have ever watched it you will understand how I can say Braden is quite angsty, a bit of a martyr and yet, at the same time, so stinkin’ loveable.  Everything he does (even when it seems misguided) is done to protect him and those that he loves. Yeah, Braden is a keeper and is quickly working his way to the Forever Boy list. 

Braden’s friends (a relative term in some cases) provide a lot to this story. My favorite this time around was Drew.  We met Drew in Witch Eyes but he plays a bigger role now that he is the only person that will openly be friends with Braden.  He is an unlikeable jerk (his usual MO) but his snark perfectly balances out the angst.   

I complained about two things when I reviewed Witch Eyes.  The first was the adults – Catherine and Jason.  I was frustrated that even at the end of Witch Eyes I knew so little about them.  But by the end of Demon Eyes I had an understanding of what made Catherine tick and what her role is in the story.  Jason was somewhat non-existent in this installment but I think we are going find out a lot more about him in Phantom Eyes and I am looking forward to it.  Just goes to show me that I need to be patient.  It’s not like I can get all the answers at once, right?   

The 2^nd thing I didn’t like in Witch Eyes was Braden’s love interest, Trey.  He came across as a controlling jerk and I didn’t feel like he was good enough for the very gentle Braden.  I want to give a huge thank you to Mr. Tracey for making me like Trey this go around.  He is still kind of a jerk…in the beginning.  But through the story you see Trey struggle with where his loyalties lie.  By the end of the book I was actually hoping that Trey and Braden would get their happily ever after.  Did they?  Yeah, like I am going to tell.  I will tell you this.  Scott Tracey yet again proves his ability to write a page-smoldering kiss.   

I enjoyed Witch Eyes.  But Demon Eyes?  I LOVED Demon Eyes.  It’s an angry sort of love, though.  Because I now have to wait another year before reading the conclusion of Braden’s story in Phantom Eyes.  Damn you, Flux! Couldn’t you put it out earlier? 

 

 

Nat