Hell Breaks Loose (Devil's Rock #2) by Sophie Jordan

* * * 3/4



Hell hath no hunger like a man let out of a cage . . .

Shy and awkward, First Daughter Grace Reeves has always done what she’s told. Tired of taking orders, she escapes her security detail for a rare moment of peace. Except her worst nightmare comes to life when a ruthless gang of criminals abducts her. Her only choice is to place her trust in Reid Allister, an escaped convict whose piercing gaze awakens something deep inside her. Reid is nothing like her other captors.

He’s tougher, smarter…and one blistering look from him makes her hotter than any man ever has.

Reid spent years plotting escape and revenge . . .years without a woman in his bed. For this hardened felon, Grace Reeves isn’t just out of his league—she’s from another planet, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her. Escaping Devil’s Rock was tough, but resisting this woman could be the end of him. For a man with nothing to lose, protecting her . . . claiming her as his own, becomes more necessary than his next breath.


Source: advance e-galley provided by Avon for an honest review


Sophie Jordan writes fun romances. Her Devil's Rock series featuring alpha males who are all about protecting what's theirs is no different though she always manages to soften them up a bit. Sheer pleasure and escapism is all the reason you need to read this!

Reid planned his escape from prison so that he could seek revenge on the man responsible for putting him there in the first place. He's forced to reassess his plans when he unwittingly gets involved in the kidnapping of the First Daughter. Now instead of just taking care of his business he has to worry about her safety and that of his brother who is one of the kidnappers. Grace wishes that she hadn't outsmarted her security detail because now she's hiding away in god knows where with some morally-challenged folk, frightened for her life. She senses that her kidnappers seem to be afraid of Reid and so she tries to appeal to his good side. Reid wants no part of this but he's ultimately a decent man and can't leave Grace to these thugs. The two of them must lie low while he figures out how to save them both.

I've already mentioned that Reid is a decent man. His humble backstory is sad and explains how he landed behind bars. Grace has lived her entire life in the public eye on the campaign trail with her parents. Constantly under pressure to present herself as a dutiful daughter who's part of a picture-perfect family has become tedious and not to mention a bitter experience. Everything she does is always up for scrutiny and heaven forbid she have a plan for her own life. She also comes off as a bit naive to me only because she hasn't ever had the chance to live normally. Despite the privileges she's had throughout her life, she's not elitist - something I appreciated about her. And though she has been kidnapped, the situation has its silver lining in that she gets to see what she's made of. I liked the connection that she and Reid made however difficult and dangerous it was to get there. The only thing that gave me pause was the ending. Grace and Reid falling in love has its own set of complications. It felt too easy for me but then again, I am reading this for the happily ever after and I expect them to get there some way, somehow. I guess it's up to our imaginations to fill in those blanks.

Hell Breaks Loose is another action-filled romance with some angst that's overall a fun, quick read. A criminal who turns things around. A young woman who unleashes her inner badass. Yeah, you need to spend some time with Reid and Grace!

~ Bel

Paper Princess (The Royals #1) by Erin Watt

Source: e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. 

Paper Princess is not what I expected. At all. I had assumed that it would be a comical story but it turned out to be somewhat of a gritty read that contains triggers which may disturb some readers. With that in mind, please note that I will make mention of a couple of these triggers which are not necessarily spoilers but plot points. If you'd rather avoid them, you'll probably want to stop right here.

Ella Harper has been on her own since her mother died. Now orphaned, she's working three jobs while making her way through high school. The girl has goals: save loads of money, graduate, get to college and don't get caught in the meantime. You have to admire her tenacity and resourcefulness in the face of all the adversity thrown her way. When a stranger turns up at her school claiming to be her guardian, she has no idea what to believe. She's given an amazing offer that could set her up well. The catch is she has to live with this guardian, Callum Royal and his five sons. As you can guess, her moving in doesn't go over easily with the boys who see her as an outsider who's using their father for his money. One in particular, Reed, who seems to be the ringleader, is the most hostile towards her. She learns that he controls the reigns at home and at school. Her social life is essentially in his hands. But this Ella is not one to stand down from a fight and is willing to go head-to-head with him, sometimes challenging him, sometimes taunting him.

I vacillated between feeling badly for the life that Ella had endured up until now and being irritated by her immaturity. Case in point, her attraction to Reed despite his vile attitude towards her. Yet she keeps going back for more. I don't normally mind cocky heroes as long as I can find some endearing quality to them. I didn't get any of that with Reed. He certainly has his troubles but because he's so cold and calculated I just never got around to liking him. Then there's the fact that Ella is mostly surrounded by spoiled, irresponsible prats who never show accountability for their actions. I know it's judgey of me but these kids dabble in things then make their troubles go away with money. One scene in particular had me so incensed that it influenced my reaction to the book. It's a scene where an almost sexual assault occurs and I was mortified by how the characters handled it initially. Not only that, I was also angry by what followed shortly after between Ella and Reed. Normally, I can separate fiction from reality but not in this instance, and especially not in light of recent headlines which make the events in this book feel all too real. While this is a smaller subplot within the story, rape culture is a hot button topic and I wasn't keen on how it was represented within it. (I would love to have insight into the authors' thought process in writing these scenes though.)  

For the first time since we started this blog, I am honest to goodness stumped as to how to rate a book. Paper Princess feels like a mash up of Gossip Girl, Cruel Intentions and maybe a little Fifty Shades Jr. It's weird for me to say I "liked" a book when there are details in it that left me feeling so out of sorts. My personal grievances aside, I still couldn't put the book down. You can't tell that it's the work of two authors - Elle Kennedy and Jen Fredrickson - because of the fluid writing. These characters are a trainwreck and as a reader you can't help but watch as that pile up occurs. Will I be reading the follow-up, Broken Prince? Absolutely! Why? Because I need to know. I'm hoping someone in that story is redeemable. So instead of an actual rating, this is the next best thing I can do. This is me throughout the entire read!  

Gif is linked. Click to activate. 

~ Bel

Black Iris by Leah Raeder

* * * *

The next dark and sexy romantic suspense novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Unteachable.

It only took one moment of weakness for Laney Keating’s world to fall apart. One stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors began. Slut, they called her. Queer. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mother decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.

If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.

She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses—and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who has thorns of her own.

But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces—the bully who broke her down completely—she decides it's time to live up to her own legend.

And Armin and Blythe are going to help.

Which was the plan all along.

Because the rumors are true. Every single one. And Laney is going to show them just how true.

She's going to show them all.

If you're inclined to reading darker subject matter then Black Iris should be on your list! It's a story about manipulation and revenge. The main character Laney, lays out all her flaws immediately. Simply put, it's one of the more unsettling books I've read in a while, yet despite that, I couldn’t tear myself away, managing to finish the book in one reading.

As I mentioned above, Laney admits her shortcomings and is no hero in this story that switches gears between the present and the previous year. Her home life is a wreck save for her close relationship with her younger brother. She’s not with the popular crowd at school and doesn't have any close friends.  At the beginning she comes home after a night of partying to discover a horrific scene at home.  And she hints that it’s something she had set into motion some time ago. 

There were many times where I was alarmed by Laney’s self-destructive exploits which include regular drinking, drugs and random sex. She's spiraling deeper into her own dark thoughts. Being the unfortunate victim of a prank where her own sexuality was used against her has affected her behaviour and subsequent motives. Maligned at school and made to feel like an outsider, she decides to live up to the vile rumors that have spread about her. 

Much later on she attends a college party with the intention of finding someone specific. She doesn't identify who, except that this is someone she despises with every fiber of her being, and we’re led to believe that he is the root of all her problems. We’re only given details in pieces until the whole picture comes together at the very end. While she doesn't find this mystery person, she does meet Armin and Blythe, instantly becoming friends with them. It’s a bizarre friendship-turned-love-triangle based on partying, drugs and lies. As the drama unfolds revealing secrets and tensions, you begin to see how every event is interconnected. What’s most disturbing is who does the manipulating and to what extent. It's all part of some twisted, elaborate game of cat and mouse. Honestly, I felt sick to my stomach.

Like I said earlier, I couldn't put this down. Only great writing can pull you in and immerse you in its world. I felt the weight of Laney's bitterness and feared for her when things started to get way out of hand. I also felt the reality of the world Raeder created. It helps that I'm familiar with some of the suburban places she mentions. I had this playing out as a movie in my mind as I read along. It has all the right elements -- betrayal, romance, sex, mystery. There's so much happening that messes with your mind. On the one hand, you see entitled kids wasting time by playing a high-stakes game of chess with people's lives. On a deeper level, these are seriously troubled individuals, sociopaths if you will, who like to instigate and maneuver events to their liking - public shaming for example - regardless of the casualties. 

Black Iris doesn’t offer any kind of clean cut resolution, there’s no fist bump of triumph in the air when the truth comes out. Everything comes at a cost and that cost is high. I had absolutely no idea where the suspense was headed. I just clutched desperately to the hope that someone would finally see things with clarity. By the time it was all over, I had to take a few deep breaths. There are still moments of the book that stick with me. It's not a story that you can easily shake off once you're done with it. When that happens, you know that was a great story!

~Bel

  

   

     

    

Playlist For The Dead by Michelle Falkoff

* * * *

A teenage boy tries to understand his best friend's suicide by listening to the playlist of songs he left behind in this smart, voice-driven debut novel.

Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, his best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs, and a suicide note: For Sam—listen and you'll understand.

As he listens to song after song, Sam tries to face up to what happened the night Hayden killed himself. But it's only by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he will finally be able to piece together his best friend’s story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.

Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now, Playlist for the Dead is an honest and gut-wrenching first novel about loss, rage, what it feels like to outgrow a friendship that's always defined you—and the struggle to redefine yourself. But above all, it's about finding hope when hope seems like the hardest thing to find.

Sam discovers his best friend Hayden dead. Not something that can be unseen.  He goes through the cycle of sadness, anger, guilt as he wonders if there was any way in which he could have prevented Hayden from taking his own life.  It’s always the ones left behind left with all the questions. Hayden had left Sam a playlist along with a note simply stating that he’d understand once he listened to the songs. Putting the pieces back together dredge up all sorts of memories. Trouble is, he’s no closer to understanding anything. 

Hayden’s death has also affected a lot of people which outrages Sam when he sees the hypocrisy of some of the mourners who claim to have loved him but were major players in traumatizing him when he was alive. His fury is specifically directed at Hayden’s older brother and his friends who used to bully him incessantly, and also at Hayden’s parents who were never kind to or accepting of their younger son. As much as he blames them, he also blames himself.

A mysterious girl named Astrid introduces herself to Sam after the funeral saying that she knew Hayden but doesn’t elaborate on how. He can add this to the growing list of things Hayden kept secret. Striking up a friendship with Astrid moves Sam from being a loner to a circle of friends that he wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. With them he realizes that there’s more to appearance and what you think you see about a person. Astrid’s complexity and role in Hayden’s life gnaws at him and he’s anxious to get more details. In the meantime, the rumor mill is turning as some nasty things are happening to kids at school. Sam doesn't know what to think and in between lack of sleep, grief and hallucinations, he's worried that he could possibly have a role in some of the events taking place.

There are a few books I’ve read and reviewed previously that dealt with the aftermath of suicide. Each one had the protagonist searching for clues and answers to explain what they found hard to accept. Yet with these similarities, each one of these stories handled the theme differently. Playlist shows Sam admitting his confusion and anger, even acknowledging that he'd like to see some kind of vengeance on those whom he feels were responsible for making Hayden miserable while he was alive. However, he's also capable of being rational.  Each chapter, titled after a song on the playlist, sets up the mood and also provides both good and painful memories that help to describe the depth of their friendship. Sam is persistent about uncovering the truth which means he also has to come to terms with how he and Hayden left things shortly before the latter's death.

I'm always surprised when I'm drawn to what I expect to be morbid books. The thing is, I didn't find Playlist to be a depressing affair. His recollection of his friendship with Hayden are all he has to hold on to. I enjoyed reading how they'd spar over who had the better taste in music, often to just rile each other up. There's appreciation for the special language they shared and their loyalty. Sam's loss and bewilderment are natural, his feeling of betrayal when he discovers things about Hayden he didn't know previously are valid. Despite that, what got to me most was his ability to get to a point of forgiveness. Not all the questions are answered because that would be impossible. Faced with that reality, Sam must adjust to life without his best friend and he has to learn to accept that it's okay. The healing will come as he figures this out one day at a time.

~ Bel

   

     

   

If you'd like to know what songs are included in Playlist For The Dead, Michelle Falkoff has put a Spotify playlist together. It's brilliant! Enjoy!

God's Play by H.D. Lynn

* * * 

Sixteen-year old Toby was trained by a family of hunters to kill shape-shifters — but he has a unique weapon in his arsenal. With a touch of his hand, Toby can lift the magical protection shape-shifters use to disguise themselves as human. It’s an unusual skill for a hunter, and he prefers to kill monsters the old-fashioned way: with a blade.

Because of his special skill, Toby suspects he may be a monster himself. His suspicions deepen when William, a jackal-headed shape-shifter, saves him from an ambush where Toby’s the only survivor. And Toby doubts William helped him for purely altruistic reasons. With his list of allies running thin, Toby must reconcile his hatred of shifters and the damning truth that one saved his life. It’ll take both of them to track down the monster who ordered the ambush.

And Toby needs his unlikely ally because he has a vicious enemy — the infamous Circe, who has a vendetta to settle against the hunters. Toby has to unravel the mystery of his dual nature. And he has to do it on the run — before Circe finds him and twists him to her own ends.

You know you’re heading up sh** creek when the only person you can trust is your sworn enemy. Someone you’ve been taught to hate, hunt down and kill. And that’s the premise of God’s Play, about two least likely young men who find themselves in a bit of a predicament but who are smart enough to recognize that they could mutually benefit from working together to take down an enemy greater than either of them have ever experienced.

Meet Toby, who’s been taught from an early age by his hunter-mother all that he knows about shape-shifters and monsters.  He’s the lone survivor on the night that she and the rest of his family are killed. William, who’s a shape-shifter, happens to find him and rescues him.  Obviously, neither of them trust each other, especially with Toby’s special power that could put shape-shifters into serious jeopardy. But Toby is desperate to find his mother’s killer and avenge her death. William sees a partnership with Toby as an opportunity to rid himself of a particularly troublesome foe who so happens is responsible for Toby’s mother’s death. Where Toby is all gusto and bravery, William has always lacked the confidence to take care of business himself. Through a series of flashbacks that expose their personal histories, it's fun to see how their opposing personalities and priorities clash and then eventually compromise.

I found God’s Play engaging. I hadn’t read anything like it before and the uneasy alliance between Toby and William became more tense as that developed. The plot also involves other players that make the story more colourful and come alive. With three POVs providing plenty of history and mythology, everything made sense and felt satisfying when events and people finally connected.

I simply picked it up because I liked the cover and I was looking for a break from what I’d been reading lately. Mysteries, secrets, greed, friendship and surprises make this a riveting read. If you like your paranormal with a contemporary feel and some mythology, God’s Play will work for you! 

~ Bel

Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

* * *

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?

When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?

Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.

I’m very amused by the whimsical title which gives you an idea of how the story is going to go. The set up works very quickly where Gemma gets dumped and is then sent off to spend the summer in the Hamptons. Okay, it takes a few pages but get my meaning.

While the Hamptons may provide a much needed escape from her current predicament, she’s also quite apprehensive about returning to the scene of the crime where she betrayed a then best friend, Hallie when they were only eleven years old. It’s not known immediately what she did but I did like that the protagonist wasn’t a goody-goody and had some things she needed to figure out.

Gemma seizes upon a very convenient mixed-identity moment i.e. her best friend ‘s name, Sophie written on her Starbucks cup, to pretend to be someone else so that she can get close to and befriend Hallie and make amends. Naturally, things aren’t quite THAT easy and there are plenty of times where Gemma could either be outed or wind up in problematic situations. Her feelings for Josh only confuse matters so she has to tread lightly.

I have to say I was quite jittery reading this. The whole secret identity thing never turns out well and as a reader, you’re always anticipating events ahead of the actual story. I had my own suspicions less than halfway through the book which were validated in the end.  I did feel it was slightly predictable but by the end the tone had changed drastically and can best be surmised as “OH. IT. IS. ON!” 

Stay tuned – I think the next book is going to get bumpy!

~ Bel

Undone by Cat Clarke

* * * * 1/2

Jem Halliday is in love with her gay best friend. Not exactly ideal, but she's learning to live with it.

Then the unspeakable happens. Kai is outed online ... and he kills himself.

Jem knows nothing she can say or do will bring him back. But she wants to know who was responsible. And she wants to take them down.

A searing story of love, revenge and betrayal from a bestselling author.

When I start to read a book like this, it’s usually with trepidation. There’s no way to know without reading through it how it’ll go, if by the end you’ll be shred to bits or filled with a glimmer of hope. I found out that Undone did both.

Undone begins in such a dark and grief-filled place with Jem so distraught and unable to bring herself to face life without her best friend, Kai. She relives their many moments as she’s holed up in her bedroom shutting off the world. She sees her best option is to off herself as there’s no point in going on without him. The day she decides to do it, she’s interrupted by Kai’s younger sister Louise, who was instructed by Kai himself to deliver a package to Jem. Within it are 12 letters, one for each month that Jem is directed to open on the 23^rd of every month.

As unlikely as it seems, this whole exchange between Jem and Louise is rather funny. It basically wakes her up from her long grief stricken stupor. Jem’s internal monologue drips with sarcasm and dry humor. First, she’s deciding between the pros and cons of a sandwich or ordering Chinese takeout as her last meal, then her disappointment with her suicide attempt being thwarted and Louise cutting into her valuable suicide time. It all caught me off guard and I loved it.

So Jem reenters the world and unexpectedly becomes part of the in crowd or as she calls it, Team Popular at school. It’s at this point that she hatches a plan to seek revenge for Kai’s death. Of course, it’s not quite that easy but in Jem fashion which would be snarkiness and social awkwardness, she makes some serious headway with plenty of goofy moments too. There are also the somber moments when she reads Kai’s letters, filled with unconditional love, affection and jokes that come with a lifetime of knowing someone so well, that may have you reaching for a tissue. But even his letters can’t deter her from The Plan, as screwy and misguided as it may be.

The story proceeds through the next few months and Jem makes progress in her own personal life but revenge is never far from her mind even as her relationships with certain members of Team Popular get complicated. It's ironic that during this entire time she's finally participating in life as opposed to watching on the sidelines like she used to do with Kai and it doesn't even register with her. No, she's still planning her impending death. By the end, things come to a serious head and Jem is faced with choosing between what she has wanted for the past year and the potential for a future that she has never allowed herself to contemplate.

Undone is written so well and there were a few moments where I was reminded of another of my favourite books, Saving June, also about the aftermath of a suicide.  Whereas the latter’s story is much more heavy, Clarke manages to relate Jem’s story with compassion and humor. Things do get serious toward the finish and I was absolutely stunned silent by the end. Whether or not Clarke intended to, my personal belief is that the end is open to interpretation which I appreciate because I am still going back and forth between what I think happened, what I feel the author wants me to think happened and what I hope happened.  

Read Undone. It's outstanding and well worth it!

~ Bel

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

* * *

Available June 12, 2012

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters must prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually they select their victims at random, but this time around the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother’s death.


It’s going to take the whole family to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder’s job is to gain Hancock’s trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love – just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between family and the girl he loves. One thing’s for sure, whatever Calder decides, the outcome won’t be pretty.


I picked Lies Beneath simply because the title's double meaning appealed to me. And I can now add mermaids and mermen to my list of paranormal love stories. 


As described above, Calder and his sisters are looking to avenge the death of their mother.  They lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Hancock family and they will not be appeased until they have succeeded. Calder goes along with this out of family loyalty and also because his eldest sister Maris has promised him his freedom should he help them succeed in getting Jason Hancock. Calder does his best to ingratiate himself into the family. And because he's literally a fish out of water, he's often awkward. He decides that Hancock's older daughter, Lily will be the way to get to him. 


Lily, however, is no dainty little thing. She has a pretty strong mind and can’t be easily swayed. She's attracted to Calder but also deeply suspicious and can sense that there's something off about him. So while the story begins with Lily being the prey, it’s Calder who ends up being backed into a corner. Since he's not generally among humans a lot, Calder can be rough around the edges and gets more uncomfortable as he becomes more drawn to Lily. 


Calder’s sisters add a lot of tension to the plot – in particular Maris, who as head of the clan is hell bent on revenge. She’s the loose canon that Calder must always pacify and keep in check. Calder is also facing a crisis of his own. He craves human emotions as much as his body craves the water. But he has refused to feed off humans for months, staying “dry” and pushing himself further just to see how far he can take it. To give in to temptation would draw unwanted attention to him and his sisters and potentially ruin all their plans. Add to that Lily’s growing suspicions, the mounting lies and Calder is caught in one tangled web.


I liked Lies Beneath. I admit that I’m not familiar with mermaid lore but I found this story interesting and well paced. I liked that Lily wasn’t an easy mark for Calder and that he wasn’t this perfect suave guy. Calder’s internal battle to fight his nature was very compelling and provided a sinister undercurrent to the story. There's enough going on that keeps up the suspense delivering a surprising and turbulent climax.


~ Bel


*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing us the ARC.