Stardust (Of Dust & Darkness #2) : Synopsis and Release Week Sign-Ups

I know, I know. This has been a long time coming. I'm sorry it took so long to get this out and I promise you won't have to wait that long for the final book. As soon as I'm done writing Nearly Undone, I'm going straight to Ashes & Dust so I can have both of these trilogies wrapped up. Below is the synopsis, and if you're interested in participating in the Release Week Giveaway, sign up here.

Releasing February 15, 2016

He took my wings, my freedom. Degraded me in every way possible. Deep inside me a fire burns, awaiting the day I get to return the favor. Break. By break. By break.

Wrongfully imprisoned and brutally savaged by the warden of a secret slave camp, Rosalie craves vengeance. She may have been the only pixie to escape the compound, but she’s anything but safe. Alone in the forest, grounded with broken wings, her journey to find help is long and perilous. And Jack is nowhere to be seen. Forced to stray off their agreed upon path, Rosalie feels more lost in the dark than ever. Home is but a dream, and when she learns things are not as they seem, even those closest cannot be trusted. The rules of the game are changing, desperation is winning out. And unfortunately for Rosalie, she finds herself on the verge of losing a lot more than love and cherished wings.

See it at GoodReads.

Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham (ARC)

Mr. Kiss and Tell
Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Exp. Pub.: January 20, 2015

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

Sassy detective Veronica Mars is back - yay! - along with the gang, plus Logan - double yay! - to find out what exactly happened to a young woman who was discovered badly beaten in a remote area. She vaguely remembers what happened, but since she deliberately took the route without cameras in the hotel, no one can be sure how she got from a random room to the field several miles away. As Veronica delves deeper and deeper into the investigation, she learns no one is who they seem, including the woman who was raped and left for dead. But even if Veronica can learn the truth, will the angry, anti-Mars, out-with-a-grudge sheriff be willing to do anything about it?

Sigh... Gotta love the sweetness between Veronica and Logan. Makes me really miss the show. Even though they both have careers the other wished they didn't, they suck it up and let it go, somehow finding a way to make it work. Keith is recovering from the attempt on his life, and determined more than ever to help Eli beat the wrap charge the sheriff's office tried to pin on him. And Mac and Wallace are still around to help their favorite gal pal. And though I loved the story, this particular book seemed to lack the Veronica Mars sass I've come to love, hence the doc in star rating. Still a good read if you're a fan of the series.

ARC provided by Vintage for honest review.

The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe (ARC)

The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant (The V Trilogy #2)
Joanna Wiebe
Exp. Pub.: January 20, 2015 (TOMORROW!!)

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh - on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others - only to lose herself?

 

***If you haven't read The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant,

there be spoilers ahead!***

Unique, mysterious and heartbreaking. Anne Merchant proves even the darkest of souls can be selfless when it comes to saving the ones you love.

Right when Anne Merchant thought she had Villicus beat, she's cruelly ripped from the mortal world and forced to return to Wormwood Island, where the residents are anything but living. Even though Anne's the only student attending Cania Christy who is selectively different, she can still be put in her place by blackmail. Her actions have not only backfired on herself, but her father and Ben as well. Her father is now forced to do the same work as Ben's father, and Ben is now forced to attend the school and compete for the big V as well. And for those of you naughty readers who are breezing through my review before reading the first novel, the V doesn't stand for what you think it does, obviously. :)

But Anne's problems don't end with being nicknamed Murdering Merchant by her heckling classmates. Villicus has been replaced by yet another headmaster, one who has way too much interest in Anne and scheduling special mentoring sessions to occupy her time. But with Ben's time ticking away until graduation and him making no effort to win the elite prize, Anne must do the unthinkable to force him to try, and the repercussions are even worse than she anticipated. So the return of a lost friend couldn't come at a more opportune time, though her reason for being there is bittersweet.

With the arrival of a group of unusual female teachers, it doesn't take Anne long to realize who they are, and as she does what she's told and begins to look more closely at everything around her, she begins to realize there's a bigger game at play, and that Anne herself has a history that could unravel Cania Christy's very way of life on a permanent basis.

4.5 dreamcatchers. If you read the first, the second is even better. If you haven't read the first novel yet, check it out. For awhile you'll think their competition is downright silly until you learn what they're really competing for, then it all seems to make sense why they go about it the way they do. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how the final installment of this paranormal trilogy plays out, and whether or not Anne will be able to fix the heartbreaking nightmare we're currently left with.

 

ARC provided by BenBella Books for honest review.

This Shattered World by Amie Kauffman and Meagan Spooner (ARC)

This Shattered World (Starbound #2)
Amie Kauffman and Meagan Spooner
Exp. Pub.: December 23, 2014

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.   

This Shattered World follows two more opposites fighting it out thanks to the messed up experiments by LaRoux Industries. Flynn grew up on Avon, where their world was supposed to be terraformed to make them a more contributal planet. But decades later their world is no closer to achieving that than the day they agreed to it. The rebellion has been well underway, with Flynn's sister already dead ten years, who was once their leader. A great majority look to her brother Flynn as the next leader, but a man named McBride has an itchy trigger finger to start attacking the military and break the cease-fire. He has good reason - military personnel has to be constantly changed out every one to two months because they're susceptible to something they refer to as the Fury, where the officer loses control and goes murderous. The military tries to get them off planet in before that can happen by monitoring the signs, but sometimes it happens too fast, and native residents of Avon seem to be the only victims of this curious disease. While McBride believes it's just an excuse to kill their people, Flynn begins to believe in the possibility that something more supernatural is going on. But for the most part, his attention is more focused on a secret base he's sure he saw out east, and also on a high ranking officer named Jubilee, who seems to be immune to this so-called Fury and has been on Avon for a year now. Surely she has the knowledge he seeks.

 

Desperate for answers and to stop McBride from convincing his own people to attack the better equipped military, he seizes the opportunity to abduct Jubilee off base. But she holds no answers for him, or at least isn't willing to share them. And when his plan to trade her for supplies is rejected, he knows killing her will only unleash the military's wrath, so he goes against his people and allows her to escape. Ready to go after the rebel leader who abducted her, certain events take place that begin to make Jubilee question the things Flynn interrogated her about, and as both their worlds become more deadly, two sworn enemies soon realize working together is their best chance for saving both sides.

This was a good follow-up to These Broken Stars, which I absolutely loved. Flynn and Jubilee didn't win my heart as much as their predesecors, but I still adored them by the end. And before you ask, yes, you'll get to see Tarver and Lilac again, who have an intimate knowledge at dealing with the shady side of LaRoux industries, but only for a small percentage of the novel. But if you loved the first novel of the Starbound series, you'll love the second one too.

ARC provided by Disney-Hyperion for honest review.

This Is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld (ARC)

This Is Your Afterlife
Vanessa Barneveld
Pub.: October 21, 2014

When the one boy you crushed on in life can't seem to stay away in death, it's hard to be a normal teen when you're a teen paranormal.

Sixteen-year-old Keira Nolan has finally got what she wanted—the captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost and she’s the only one who can see him.

Keira's determined to do anything to find Jimmy's killer. Even it if means teaming up with his prickly-yet-dangerously-attractive brother, Dan, also Keira's ex-best-friend. Keira finds that her childish crush is fading, but her feelings for Dan are just starting to heat up, and as the story of Jimmy’s murder unfolds, anyone could be a suspect.

This thrilling debut from Vanessa Barneveld crosses over from our world to the next, and brings a whole delightful new meaning to "teen spirit".  

Keira Nolan seems to face the problem most teenagers do in high school. No, not the ghost thing, but the part where she always had such a crush on one guy she didn't realize there was another worth having until it was too late. Jimmy was the star athlete every girl wanted, but it was his artistic brother Dan who had eyes for Keira. And when her best friend tried to kiss her for that lovely game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, Keira blurted the stupidest thing possible - next thing she knew, she'd lost her best friend and the guy she aparently had a thing for.

A few years later, Keira's finally inheriting her late grandmother's gift - the ability to see dead people. And her first official ghost sighting? None other than Jimmy himself, who can't remember how he died, nor can he seem to keep himself grounded the farther he travels away from Keira. So not only will Keira have to help Jimmy figure out how he mysteriously died, but he's begged her to tell his brother he's still around. Wouldn't be such a feat if he didn't hate her so much.

 

It's been a while since I read a YA book that was this cute and kept my attention because of that. Don't get me wrong, the story was simple and I figured out right away why Jimmy died, but it didn't bother me moving forward with the novel. Let's just call This Is Your Afterlife simple and sweet. If you need a light, easy read that'll make you smile and come down from one of the more emotionally heavy novels out there, this is your gem.

 

 

ARC provided by Bloomsbury Spark for honest review.

Anomaly by Tonya Kuper (ARC)

Anomaly (Schrodinger's Consortium #1)
Tonya Kuper
Pub.: Nov 25, 2014

Reality is only an illusion.
Except for those who can control it…

Worst. Birthday. Ever.

My first boyfriend dumped me – happy birthday, Josie!- my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…

Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

When hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead… 

Hmm. Anomaly was just okay for me; didn't love it, didn't hate it. I will say that I enjoyed the geekiness of Josie and the way she could refer to stories like Star Wars and Thor and compare them to the new version of her everyday life. I also liked that her superpower involved pushing and retracting objects in and out of existence. Definitely a cool ability to have. But the storyline of girl with new abilities training and falling for her hot new trainer has become a bit of a bore for me - I've read it too many times already, so it made the story really drag on until the last fifteen percent. She just spent way too much of this novel learning how to push things into reality. I prefer to read about spontaneous conflict, not the manufactured kind to teach a new skill.

 

Give it a go if you like, and so long as you don't go in expecting to be blown away, you'll probably be content enough with Anomaly.  2.5 Dreamcatchers.

ARC provided by Entangled Publishing for honest review.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis (ARC)

Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis
Pub.: October 14, 2014 TOMORROW!

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival. 

Stitching Snow was a fresh take on the popular fairy tale that had a cool Star Wars kind of vibe to it. Essie (Princess Snow) has been in hiding the past eight years in a remote part of Thanda, a mining planet where only those in need of work ever travel. She's learned to survive by tinkering and stitching her own set of robots which are used to help keep the miners from going too deep into dangerous territory, and for extra money, Snow takes part in fighting matches with the men transitioning through.

 

Essie was good with this life. It was predictable, and in a way, safe. At least until a ship crashed nearby. With no mechanics nearby, it's up to Essie to stitch up Dane's ship to get him back in the sky. But he's not who he seems, which Essie figures out all too late, and she's forced to return to a dangerous world where everyone has a hidden agenda and the royals are only all too happy to pick up where they left off - needing Princess Snow dead.

Unique and engaging, Stitching Snow will keep you glued to the pages as Essie tries desperately to survive this messed up universe of greed and power, all while struggling with these romantic notions suddenly sprouting for the most unlikely suitor. And best part of all, it's a standalone so no pesky waiting period to see how it all unfolds.

ARC provided by Disney-Hyperion for honest review.

My Wolf's Bane by Veronica Blade (Indie)

My Wolf's Bane (Shapes of Autumn #1)
Veronica Blade
Pub Date: January 28, 2013

Different species. Mortal enemies. It'll never work, but they'll die trying.

Autumn Rossi thought she was a normal teenager. Suddenly, she can outrun every critter in the forest, making her wonder if she’s even human.

When the new guy at school, Zack de Luca, witnesses a questionable scene, he unfairly pins her as stuck-up. He acts like he hates her, yet he keeps bailing her out of trouble. Not only is Zack both insufferable and irresistible, he seems to sniff her anytime he gets close.

As passion flares between them, Autumn isn’t sure which is more dangerous: her psycho ex-boyfriend, or falling for Zack — who’s risking his life just by being near her.
 

Freaky things are happening to Autumn Rossi. All of a sudden she can hear sounds in the distance, her smell is more refined and sensitive, she's able to run at speeds she shouldn't be able to reach, and her body heals way too fast. Even this teenager knows these aren't the kind of symptoms you go running to the doctor about, so she has no one to ask. Her parents, you ask? They've been suffocating her for years. Constantly in contact, even texting her in school, never leaving her alone for more than an hour at a time. And they move her several times a year. So telling them about these things when they're already itching to move once more, Autumn decides to deal with it on her own. She likes it where she is. She'll turn eighteen in less than a week and is ready to stop following her parents so she can graduate high school where she is. The only thing she doesn't like? The new guy who always seems to be behind her trying to be her freakin' savior.

 

Zack de Luca may be hot, but Autumn's getting whiplash from his mood swings. Always short and snippy with her, if he wasn't helping to fix her sorry excuse for a car or putting himself between her and her crazy of an ex, she'd think he completely hated her. But when Autumn negotiates with her parents to stay while they leave town for work for a week, she finds herself forced to spend more time with him. Not only has the local mechanic put Zach in charge of helping her find a new car within her budget, but her ex becomes more aggressive, and Zach feels compelled to sleep on her sofa and be a little more attentive at school. Which would be all fine and well if that jerk didn't start growing on her. And it seems he had the same problems with her. When she finds out neither she or Zach are even human, Autumn thinks she's finally found someone she can relate to. But there's an expiration on this so-called camaraderie, because both of their lives are in danger, and being together is not only forbidden but to puts a deadly target on both their backs.

If you're a fan of forbidden romance with a taste of the supernatural world, this is a goody to pick up. But these characters are still high school, so you better prepare yourself for some additional teenage drama. I'm curious to see what happens because there's something more going on with her parents, and I've got it in my head that they're either a part of a certain secret society or that they might just be guilty of having one of these forbidden relationships themselves.

Copy provided by Crush Publishing for honest review.

Glitch by Brenda Pandos (Indie)

Glitch (Lost in Time #1)
Brenda Pandos
Pub.: January 31, 2014

Perfect world. Lies. Blue eyes.

When a mysterious guy from the forbidden zone sneaks an illegal slip of paper to a beautiful young girl from Brighton, she must decide if she should turn him in or follow what the note says.

Eighteen-year-old Abigail has no trouble following Brighton’s rules. For one, she’s OCD about checking her Date of Death clock latched to her wrist, making sure her decisions never shorten her timeline, and two, she enjoys the peace Brighton has to offer. In no way would she bring on another attack that destroyed earth’s inhabitants. But when her best friend returns from her Advice Meeting--a glimpse into the future--shocked and won’t tell Abby what’s happened, Abby is worried what awaits her glimpse. The stranger with blue eyes knows something, but does Abby dare enter the forbidden zone to get answers? Or is she doomed to live the life set in her glimpse? 

On her eighteenth birthday, Abby decides to meet her future self in a once in a lifetime meeting despite the warning from a curious rebel who snuck inside city walls to warn her against it. Guess she should've listened. Before now, her leap year birthday kept her off their radar, which was advantageous since she was destined to be someone the government would love to sink their claws into. Turns out Abby is an oracle just like her future self, but they gain their prophetic sights by literally jumping through time. Her future self did a good job hiding her younger self, but now that Abby's on the radar again, that mysterious guy has to step in and sneak her out of the city before it's too late.

 

Glitch actually surprised me. It seemed a mix of Delirium and the movie In Time with a splash of zombies for good effect. A fish out of water story, a good chunk of this novel dealt with Abby learning how to deal with rebel life without the luxuries she was used to and trying to figure out what was truth and what was fiction, because at times, even the rebels seemed a little dishonest. I enjoyed watching her fall for a pair of brothers but I have to admit I was rooting for a particular one to win her heart! This novel had a little bit of everything - romance, danger, corrupt government, even time travel and a zombie infection fighting to spread and take over again. Enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the follow-up Switch.

Novel provided by author for honest review.

Divided by Elsie Chapman (ARC)

Divided (Dualed #2)
Elsie Chapman
Exp. Pub.: May 27, 2014

The hunter becomes the hunted. . . .

West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life.

The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.

How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything.

Several months after West killed her Alt and earned the right to continue living, she's trying to gather some semblance of a normal life. No longer a Striker - a person who is paid to assassin an active Alt so their twin won't have to - it freaks her out when the Board demands her to come to Headquarters. Her worst fears are confirmed, and not only are they aware she's been a Striker and could be put to death for her crimes, but the Board themselves are requesting her services. It's obvious she has no choice but to do what they ask, but what they ask of her isn't something she thinks she can truly do.

 

Whereas West herself seemed to make Dualed drag out because she just refused to deal with her Alt assignment until the very last days of her month, Divided kept a much faster pace. We get more in the way of world-building in this one, so it's nice to finally understand how her society works. But West's relationship with Chord was a little dull for me. I'd like to think that they would've worked through some of their relationship issues during the six months that passed between novels. It seems they lived side by side without any steps forward or backwards, which doesn't seem very realistic to me. Other than that, it was pretty solid novel, and if you liked the first, odds are you'll like the second.

 

ARC provided by Random House for honest review.

The Rules for Breaking by Ashley Elston (ARC)

The Rules for Breaking (The Rules for Disappearing #2)
Ashley Elston
Exp. Pub.: May 20, 2014 TODAY!!!

Anna Boyd almost lost her life to get what she wanted most in the world: freedom.

But just when it seems that her family has finally escaped Witness Protection, the illusion that Anna could resume a normal life comes crashing down.

The deadly man Anna knows as Thomas is still on the loose, and now he's using her as a pawn in a dangerous game with the drug cartel determined to silence her forever. When Thomas and a mysterious masked man capture not only Anna but also her fragile younger sister and her boyfriend, Anna decides it's time to break all the rules-even if it means teaming up with the lesser of two evils.

Anna will do whatever it takes to protect the people she loves and win her life back once and for all. But her true enemies are hidden in plain sight. Before long, Anna will learn that putting her trust in anyone may be the last mistake she ever makes.

Anna is finally getting her life back together. Problem is, she hasn't been that honest. The journal that was stolen from her made its way back with a note and flowers. Thomas, the assassin who pretended to be one of her witness protection handlers, is still out there. When her journal is discovered by others, its back to semi-witness protection until they can figure out what Thomas' interest in Anna is. But its not long before their new location is jeopardized and both Anna and Ethan are kidnapped, along with Teeny as she happens by at the worst possible moment. Why the abduction? Thomas allowed Anna to live the first time, so there's a price on his and Ethan's heads now too. Being his bait in a deadly game between assassins is bad enough, but when Anna discovers who the guy is who's helping Thomas keep them prisoner, it's absolutely devastating.

I actually felt this was better than the first novel. In The Rules for Disappearing, I felt it was a little unbelievable that a teenage girl would throw herself into the thick of assassins and cartels and come out the victor, but in The Rules for Breaking, the action seems to find Anna and her goal switches to survival, so the story comes off way more believable. Lots of action, chills and perilous thrills keep you glued to your seat and the pages flipping as they desperately try to escape their captors. So if you liked the first, you'll probably the love this follow-up. Pick it up!

ARC provided by Disney Hyperion for honest review.

Renegade by Debra Driza (ARC)

Renegade (MILA 2.0, #2)
Debra Driza
Exp. Pub.: May 13, 2014 TODAY!!!

There is no one left for Mila to trust. Except for a boy she barely knows.

But Hunter has no idea who—and what—Mila really is. She can’t bear to reveal her secret, even though he’s unwittingly joined her search for Richard Grady, a man who may know more details of Mila’s complicated past.

Yet the road to the truth is more dangerous than ever. With General Holland and the Vita Obscura scouring the earth for her whereabouts, Mila must rely on her newfound android abilities to protect herself and Hunter from imminent harm. Still, embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity—as well as Hunter’s real motives.

Perfect for fans of I Am Number Four and Divergent, this action-packed and heart-wrenching second installment of MILA 2.0 will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the series conclusion.

Less than a month ago, Mila was just an ordinary teenager trying to survive high school like everyone else. Until an accident left her with an exposed interior arm showing nothing but circuitry. Telling Hunter she had an experimental prosthetic arm was quick thinking, but it was only the beginning of a nightmare that just wouldn't end. Now she's being hunted by two organizations that just want her for her advanced technology, her mom's been killed by her former boss, her father never really existed (or did he?). And Hunter? Oddly enough, he's the only one Mila can think to call to help her find the person her mom told her about with her dying breath.

 

But having Hunter along for the ride is as painful as it is soothing, because Mila just can't seem to find the right way to tell the guy she's fallen for that she's an android. Not to mention all the guilt she feels constantly lying about who the people are they're tracking down, and the way his life is constantly at risk as she's being hunted by Holland, the V.O. and MILA 3.0. It's a bit selfish in fact, but Mila's having a hard time adapting to this freakish new life of computers and circuitry. But suspicions arise when Mila realizes all signs point to Hunter having his own lies and secrets.

I read MILA 2.0 just two months ago, so I still had the story fresh in my mind. I really enjoyed the first, so when I saw this was up for review, I snatched for it quicker than a fat kid on a cupcake. The pace and suspense kept me reading, not to mention watching Mila and Hunter's relationship jump all over the place, but I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. I'm fine with authors throwing in a cliffy, but the ending seemed rather abrupt. I couldn't believe it when I turned that page and WHAM! Book over. I was like - huh? I guess I prefer to have a little more resolution for the current novel than what was given here. Ending aside, I was incredibly happy with Renegade, and if you were a fan of the first, you'll love this one just as much.

ARC provided by Katherine Tegan Books.

Going Rogue by Robin Benway (ARC)

Going Rogue (Also Known As, #2)
Robin Benway
Pub.: January 14, 2014

Being permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver.

Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux.
Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo.

Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names.

Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies.

I'm a huge fan of Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, so I'm willing to try her other books. Going Rogue, like Also Known As, was a cute novel perfect for young teenage girls. After completing her last mission, Maggie has settled down into normal life awaiting her next assignment that requires her stellar safecracking skills. But what she gets instead is the knowledge that her organization, The Collective, wants her and her family out over the last debacle. Her parents have been accused of stealing rare gold coins by the very man they know must have them for himself. But now that her parents have been compromised, Maggie and Angelo must work privately to clear their names. Tension rises not only at home, but between Maggie and her civilian boyfriend and best friend, who know what she is and become bitter when she shuts them down as well. But Maggie can't help but be the spy that she is, and if risking the stability of her relationships will keep everyone safe, she take the continuous hits they feel the need to dish out. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned and stealing back the coins has everyone fleeing the country for their very lives, even the civilians. Will Maggie and Angelo be able to stabilize the situation before losing someone they love, or will The Collective succeed at bringing them down on a permanent basis?

 

ARC provided by Walker Childrens for honest review.

Fractured Truth by Rachel McClellan & Signed Series Giveaway (US) & Tour Giveaway (INT)

 

 

It's not too often I dub something best of anything, but I sometimes find it shocking that some novels out there bring in a ton of ratings while others, which are far better, seem lost in the great shuffle. The Fractured Light series seems to fall under that category, so all I can do is shout WAKE UP PEEPS and READ 'EM ALREADY! This series follows a teenage girl who can harness light, who instead of being a docile pushover like the rest of her fellow Auras, and after spending her life on the run, is sick and tired of the Vykens chasing her down to absorb her light, ultimately killing her like they did her parents. Fractured Light offers up a different kind of paranormal story with a strong-minded, determined girl, and a sweet love in the making with her new guardian Christian. 

 

Catch my review of Fractured Light and Fractured Soul and Fractured Truth down below. 

 

Fractured Truth (Fractured Light #3)

Rachel McClellan
Exp. Pub.: TODAY!!!

Llona is determined to end the fight with the Vykens once and for all. All she needs is to find and destroy the Shadow—the ultimate source of dark power. But when she makes a startling discovery about someone she loves, Llona has to fight the toughest battle yet in this exciting conclusion to the Fractured Light series.

Only a few months have passed since Llona's Aunt Sophie was abducted by a man who fooled them all, and the tragedy (which I'll leave blank for this review). Llona's doing her best to move forward. Liam, her friend and mentor, who's also half Vyken, has been keeping her busy by having her focus on her training, including learning how to use her light source to make herself invisible. Super cool, by the way.

 

A deadly shadow has been set free and is now under the control of Lucent Academy's worst enemy. And the only way to defeat it? A single Aura must sacrifice her light - and her life - to bring it down, and Llona already has a pretty good idea who'll have to do that when the time comes. Knowing how much danger the Academy is now vulnerable to, Llona desperately tries to convince her fellow classmates to ignore what they've always been taught and learn to harness their light as a weapon to save their very lives. A swarm of Vykens are lurking nearby, werewolves are trying to help guard the school, and three witches of enormous power, who were responsible for releasing the shadow in the first place, have relocated themselves to the edge of the property.  Oh, and there's this whole Christian nightmare and her best friend being lured to the dark side by her Fury father. Yep, just another lovely day in paradise.

 

Fractured Truth is a Go! Go! Go! novel that starts off with a bang and never lets up! Poor Llona has so many freakin' issues spinning her in circles it's a wonder she can see straight. There's plenty of action, betrayal and heartache to go around. Prepare your lips - you're going to be chewing on them until the very end.

ARC provided by Cedar Fort for honest review. 

 

 

Just for the Crazy Dream Peeps (US only) - One lucky winner will receive  

SIGNED COPIES of ALL THREE books in the Fractured Light series!

 

Tour Giveaway (INT) - Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and

one of three copies of Fractured Light!

 

Then head here to be entered for another $25 Gift Card (INT) to either Amazon or the Book Depository 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep (ARC)

Killer Frost (Mythos Academy #6)
Jennifer Estep
Expected Pub.: February 25th, 2014 (TOMORROW!!!)

I’ve battled the Reapers of Chaos before–and survived. But this time I have a Bad, Bad Feeling it’s going to be a fight to the death … most likely mine.

Yeah, I’ve got my psychometry magic, my talking sword, Vic–and even the most dangerous Spartan on campus at my side, in Logan freaking Quinn, but I’m no match for Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos. I may be Nike’s Champion, but at heart, I’m still just Gwen Frost, that weird Gypsy girl everyone at school loves to gossip about.

Then someone I love is put in more danger than ever before, and something inside me snaps. This time, Loki and his Reapers are going down for good … or I am.

I can't believe it's over. Sniff. Hold me...

The last installment of the Mythos Academy series was a doozy, and by far the best, in my opinion. I'm not going to say too much because it's obvious what goes down in this novel. Let's just say that all the characters are rounded up for one final showdown, even the ones you've probably forgotten about, and the way Gwen goes out is quite unexpected! In good news, the Mythos world may not be completely over. Ms. Estep may've closed the door on Gwen, but she left a window open for Gwen's cousin Rory, so it's entirely possible she may decide to revisit this world in the future.

 

If you're a Mythos fan, you'll appreciate the finality of Killer Frost, so pick it up!

ARC provide by K-Teen for honest review.