Darkest Mercy

Description: The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey. 

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose "everything."

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr's "New York Times" bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

My thoughts: I have been avoiding this book like the plague. This is my favorite series, so of course I didn’t want it to end. But I thought, it’ll be 2013 and I still wouldn’t have read this book. So, I begrudgingly started this book. And like I’d predicted, I couldn’t stop once I started. I wanted to savor reading this last book, but it was just so good that I'd finished it before I knew it I was over. My mother now thinks there is something wrong with me because I would be happy and then sad two seconds later for those two days it took to read it.

As far as what actually happened in the book, all of the loose ends were tied. The war came to a head, and some surprises were sprinkled all throughout the book. Besides wanting to know more about Ash and who she choose in the end (their future) and wanting to know how Devlin and Ani were doing (because I’m selfish like that), I was satisfied with just about everything that happened. I just wish this series could last forever. But there’s nothing wrong with going back over the series.

How I felt during this book:

Which means I was two parts sad, two parts happy/excited throughout the whole book.

Tiger’s Curse review

Description: Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

 

My thoughts: I feel like I’ve been saying some of the same things I said in my last review. Tiger’s Curse was interesting, but it left much to be desired. The premise was exciting and sounded like the beginning of a potentially great series. But by the end of this first book, I was just thinking that most of the story feels like the prologue before the real story starts. There was adventure and romance, but it seemed premature. And the real enemy didn’t even show up until the last few pages.

The only thing I can go off of right now is the potential of the series. Like, maybe I’d read the next book because it has the potential to be good. I don’t know if it will, but I might give it a try.

For now, this is how I feel about this book/series: 

(which means I'm contemplating if I should read the next book)

What are you reading on Mondays?

Book(s) read last week:
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

Currently reading:
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

 Upcoming read:
 A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

My Top Ten Books I'd Recommend As Good Beach Reads

I actually read one book per summer. And since this is my third summer, that means I'll finally finish the trilogy *tear*.

OK, I have not read this yet. But I know enough to know it's a great book to read this summer.

This isn't a light read, but it'll probably give you a different outlook on how you live your life. And summer is the perfect time for change.

This is another one of John Green's book that makes me reassess how I see myself (and others). It's also my favorite book of all time!

This selection has more to do with the fact that I am now reading the last book in this series. And I can still remember buying this book from Amazon about 3-4 summers ago, right before I started this blog.

Sidenote: The Wicked Lovely series is my favorite series ever!

I can also remember having this book by the side of my bed so I could read it after Wicked Lovely. And now the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is my favorite adult series. If you like this kind of book (and are old enough to read it), you'll probably love this series.

Love love LOVE this book and the other books in this series. And summer is a great time to catch up on your mythology!

This is a fast read (which is summer appropriate), but very fun and very smart. I'd also suggest the second book in the series.

In My Mailbox 82

I only received one book this week, but I've been M.I.A. for a couple months, so I'm pretty happy!

Article 5 review

Description: New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My thoughts: I have such mixed feelings about this book. Overall it was good. It starts strong, and when I thought it’d get boring the author would throw something crazy in the mix. And what I can say about this book is that it is intense, and a lot happens. Ember wants to find her mother. Chase may or may not want to help her. And the story unfolds in a world where a corrupt government rules an oppressed people.

What lowered my overall impression of the story is that there was so much I didn’t understand. Like, I know the government is all kinds of messed up, but there’s almost always a particular antagonist the hero of the story goes after.  Where is he or she? No one ever talked about it. And after reading the end of the book, I don’t understand where the series is going. I’m assuming they want to overthrow the government, but a lot was happening and that specific goal was never fully discussed.

Even with all these questions, the fact that I’m still wondering about these things lets me know I’m hooked enough to the characters to want to know more. I just hope the second book can answer these questions. If it can, I’ll definitely be happy about the series.

I Hunt Killers review

Description: What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

My thoughts: Thanks to me attempting to watch the first 4 seasons of Dexter in these last few months, I’ve definitely been more open to books like I Hunt Killers. Because more than likely, if I didn’t discover that I liked shows like Dexter, I probably wouldn’t have been open to reading about the son of a serial killer.

What helped me the most when I actually started the book was that it gets right to the action. There’s no boring opening. Everything happens for a reason, and there are no random scenes where nothing happens so it drags until the last few pages. And what was fun about this book was that I was so determined to figure out who the killer was before Jazz did. Seriously. Like, this was my new goal in life… But like a lot of people who’ve read this, I missed all the clues completely. And despite my hurt pride, not knowing whom the killer was just made everything a lot more exciting. 

One thing that did concern me half way through was that I thought I’d stop liking Jazz. He’s charming and smart and cunning, but he whines a lot. I’m not saying he doesn’t have reason to whine. He REALLY does. But having him repeatedly voice his fears about becoming his father was starting to get to me. This is where Connie comes in (thank God). Who’s Connie? Jazz’s awesome girlfriend, that’s who she is! She puts him in his place, which is exactly what he needs. Of course he also has his best friend to keep him sane throughout the crazy that is this case.

And speaking of the case, I thought it’d be the most difficult thing Jazz would have to deal with.  Then I get to the last chapter or so and something totally unexpected happens, which justifies the reason for this being the first book in a series. This next book is going to (have to) be on a whole different level. And judging from the last couple of pages, Jazz means serious business, so it should be awesome!

Side note: Although I referenced Dexter, Jazz is not one of those people who have to fake emotion and have the need to kill people… Which is nice. :)