Anthology: Grim

Pages: 480

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Feb 25, 2014

CLAIRE DE LUNE and NOCTURNE author Christine Johnson, ed.’s GRIM, an anthology of dark fairy tale retellings, featuring stories by New York Times bestselling authors Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Julie Kagawa, and others, to Natashya Wilson at HarlequinTeen, in a nice deal, for publication in Winter 2014, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).

So my first anthology review. This is actually going to be pretty short review (because there's no way I could write a review on each short story.)

The perfect thing about this is that I read it the week of Halloween. The spooky tales fit the mood, and retellings? Oh, I just absolutely adore those! (Who doesn't love fairy tales?)

Out of all the anthologies I've read, I just have to say--this is most definitely the best. I'm a fan of the majority of these authors and they definitely didn't let me down! From haunting and chilling to downright creepy and gruesome (with a sprinkle of humor and sci fi added of course!) these stories just brought to life the fairy tales of old. Something I actually liked was that they don't really tell you which fairy tales are being retold--and having gone through a fairy tale phase (still in that phase actually!) it was unbelievably fun matching fairytale to retelling. Not to mention how creative all the authors were in weaving in their own little twists to the originals.

Is that the end of my review? Guys, I thought you knew better! I always have things to say about fabulous books and, more specifically, retellings! 

I never realized how different writing styles to be, and that's definitely showcased here. And that's not bad at all! While there were some stories written like a true fairy tale or urban legend, some were written like a scene from a YA book while another was written in verse! All were gorgeous stories though that had me absolutely captivated!

Some were heartbreaking, some were hilarious, some were simply sad. But they all managed to just capture you like the fairy tales you grow up with and I definitely recommend this one for a rainy day read. There's a whirlwind of stories in here with fascinating characters, even if we only have them for a few thrilling pages!

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Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Pages: 240

Genre: Contemporary

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Life. Death. And...Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

I've been dying for Heartbeat since about June last year. It sounded sweet, it sounded heartbreaking, and I'm always one for a good girl/bad boy romance and contemporary standalone. And I tried to love the book, I really did. But I couldn't get past the hypocrisy and annoying character and thoughtless actions, no matter how much I wanted to love this story.

My main problem with the story was Emma. I just felt like she was so hypocritical when she kept going on and on about how Dan (her stepfather) didn't know what her mom would want while, at the same time, saying how her mother wouldn't have wanted this then going to "Well she can't do/say anything now. She's dead." It just made me want to slap her because how could she not realize how much pain Dan was going through? What made me want to slap her even more was that she hurt Dan as much as she could. Of course she couldn't just ignore him right? She had to give him even more grief about keeping his own son alive. 

I didn't really get her side. I did sort of understand how painful it must've been, but I just didn't understand why the hell she would think her mom would want the baby she sacrificed herself for to die? How could she think her mother would want the child to die and how could she think it was selfish of Dan to want to keep his son, her brother, alive. It made me so angry that she wanted the baby to die (at a certain point) and then suddenly contradict herself. Or at least, that's how it seemed to me.
There were times Emma seemed like an okay character, but that wasn't very often and she really just annoyed me.

The romance was...interesting. So I wasn't quite the biggest fan of it because I felt like it was really rushed--but I do think that for such a short story that it was pretty well paced, though I still wasn't wholly satisfied by it.

Despite all my misgivings though, Heartbeat seems to be a pretty well loved novel and the feel of the novel is actually pretty New Adult, so if you're a fan of NA, I definitely think this could be one of your next favorites!

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Pawn by Aimee Carter

Goodreads Blurb

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country. 
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter. 
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

After reading the synopsis for Pawn, I'll admit--I was intrigued, but a bit wary. I've had my fill of dystopians this year, and seeing another one that sounded a bit...typical? Yeah, I was definitely wary.
But Aimee Carter surprised me in giving me a completely original novel with chilling secrets and the question Which side is the right one haunting our character every page.

Being taken deeply in the government's embrace, Kitty manages to dig up all kinds of secrets and reveals twists that just shocked me one after another. I loved the story from the beginning, but with each surprise, I just fell more and more in love with the story even as Kitty fell more and more into a family filled with grudges and secrets.
I'm always a fan of political stories where strategy and betrayals aren't uncommon and it's possibly why I love this one so much over the Goddess Test series! While I didn't understand all of them, the amount of brainstorming that must've gone into this book is amazing and the number of tricks in each character's sleeve was...astounding.

Speaking of characters, I loved them all. THEM ALL. Antagonist or protagonist, Carter manages to give us a wide range of personalities and tricks that we all fall in love (or fall in hate) with. They were all so strong and weak in their own way, but all of them were so real and I could understand their reasoning for everything, which I don't think has happened that often before.
Kitty is where things were interesting. While I didn't necessarily love her, she was so perfect--book wise. She wasn't a matyr, but she wasn't selfish. She was brave, but she wasn't stupid. She didn't think she could save the world, but she didn't give up on it either. I'm not quite sure what to think of her except that she was so real. If I met her, I may not have become her best friend--but as a character she was absolutely amazing and unbelievably well developed!

Another worry of mine: Love triangles. When we first meet Knox, the original Lila's fiance, along with Kitty's boyfriend, I was on the edge, waiting for a love triangle to pop out. And...it didn't! The romance isn't focused on much in this, but is sweet nevertheless. Kitty's motivation throughout the book was always protecting those she loved--but trying to stay in control of her own life (which is actually pretty different from the sacrificial heroines we see sometimes--who I still love of course!)
I will admit, if it's possible at all, I'm Team Knox.

Definitely my favorite of all her books, Aimee Carter has amazed me with her originality in a genre where I thought originality was gone and her ability to write stunning characters and a chilling take on a secret family feud that went beyond a few spiteful words.
Recommended for sure, especially if you're dying for something new in all these look a like dystopians!

Pages: 346

Genre: Dystopian

Series: Blackcoat Rebellion #1

Publisher: Harelquin Teen

Release Date: Nov 26, 2013

Rating: 4 Stars

Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Goodreads Blurb

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age. 
Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Going into this, I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it. The reviews I saw were mixed and my friends ranged from hating it to loving it completely. And I'm a mermaid girl, so I was definitely curious.
Before going in though, I was worried and already grimacing a bit. Lo Seavon. Lo SEAvon. And Nerissa Marin. Like Marine?

Oh this would be good. (I just wasn't sure if I'd meant that sarcastically or not when I'd though it.)

So first things first, I was actually a bit...confused by this book. There were a lot of contradicting plot lines that might have had to do with my copy being an ARC, but I digress. More than that, the actions and twists of the book were so...sudden. There was nothing leading up to it, no tension built or anything. The twists just jumped at you from the book and not in a particularly stunning way.

Nerissa...Nerissa wasn't my favorite character in the world of YA. She was whiny and, like Seipo brought up (and promptly apologized for) selfish. She did things however she wanted, pretty much regardless of the consequences and the toll it would take on those around her. She didn't seem to realize what people were sacrificing for her and she was...so naive. She believed that she was strong enough with very little training. She believed that she could take on the one person who managed to kill her powerful father. And she never thought once to suspect the people around her even though there were so many hints about it.
Bringing me to that little bit of information. Nerissa was also behind and oblivious. I figured things out three to ten chapters before her and I found it ridiculous that she herself pointed out things that should've tipped her off, but didn't. And now I wander into the plot discussion.

The pacing was actually quite fun and I loved the action bits, but the entire story was really quite predictable. While there were a few things that surprised me, the largest twist was something I'd seen coming a mile away and was actually pretty cliche and sort of made me want to bang my head on the wall.

And while the plot was pretty decent, the story focused mainly on the romance--insta love. Their relationship was so "electric" and insta lovey I cringed a few times as Nerissa described Lo's eyes as "matching the depths of the ocean" for the hundredth time and couldn't help but laugh every time she tried to deny her feelings for Lo. Which I honestly didn't understand. She didn't have plans to go back to her world, why would admitting she had a crush on him hurt her in any way? It was really ridiculous how much she tried to fight it despite her getting jealous and snapping at him when he talked to another girl for even ten seconds.

What is sort of fascinating, but weird, is that our characters...are not mermaids. No, they're alien water dragon-like creatures who resemble the Loch Ness monster, I'm assuming.That part was actually intriguing, and I do wish we focused more on the other aspects of the story besides Nerissa falling in love with Lo.

Pages: 360

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Series: The Aquarathi #1

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Oct 29, 2013

Rating: 2 stars

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Goodreads Blurb

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 
Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 
But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

I was a little bit wary jumping into Crash Into You. Of course I loved Pushing the Limits--I just wasn't the biggest fan of Dare You To. But then I realized I just didn't like it, mainly because I hated Beth for both being bitchy to Echo and hurting Isaiah.

ISAIAH!

I have now decided to start my review with Isaiah. Because he is, quite honestly, my favorite of all the guys in this series. I honestly don't think anyone pulls off that tough-but-secretly-sweet persona as wonderfully as Isaiah because he's just so...absolutely...broken. I've been in love with him since PTL, and after we see him over and over, even more hurt and destroyed than before...it practically killed me. And then I sort of fell in love with him even more throughout this book. How was that even possible?

And Rachel. Rachel! I loved that girl! She made my heart hurt, guys. She tried to be the perfect daughter for her family, she tried to remodel herself after her dead sister for her mom who wants her to be Colleen's replacement, but she was practically smothering herself, trying to be someone who was her opposite. And it hurt that it seemed like everyone in her family just encouraged her to keep a smile on her mom's face, damn the consequences. I can't even imagine how that would feel.
But she was still sweet. And she was strong in a different sort of way. She was perfect for Isaiah and I just loved how they acted around each other.

Yes, the romance was insta lovey. But it worked! Their chemistry was a steady burn that was enchanting and the way they balanced each out was wonderful. Rachel pulled Isaiah from the brink and Isaiah helped Rachel be herself--it was beautiful and their relationship just seemed so heartfelt that I couldn't help but adore.

But the best thing about this book was that it wasn't purely a romance. There was a thrilling feel to it as they raced against a clock to pay back a certain not-so-friendly friend. I didn't really know how it'd play out, but I definitely wasn't expecting the end! (I think I almost died at the end). Also, Katie McGarry is either a genius with cars or she did some hardcore research. Or I'm just an idiot when if comes to cars.

And all our characters are back! Our wily old counselor, Noah, Echo, Beth, Ryan, Logan (and he plays a rather large role too.) all made an appearance and I couldn't help but love it. I may have warmed up to Beth too, which is sort of surprising.
New characters are introduced too though, and I think Abby is my abortive secondary character ever. Do we get a spin off on her too? She's sarcastic and surprisingly kind, despite her tough shell, which I guess isn't surprised since she grew up in an environment possibly worse than Isaiah. But you can't help but love her--pretty much like everything else in the book!

Crash Into You was an enthralling read that I managed to finish in a day! It didn't disappoint and it's definitely my favorite of all the books. So all I can say? Read it. 

Pages: 474

Genre: Contemporary

Series: Pushing the Limits #3

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Nov 26, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz***

Goodreads Blurb

Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.
Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…
After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

This is book two of the Spellbound series and no, I have not posted the review forSpellbound yet. But I decided to post a review on Spellcaster simply because I feel as if book #2 is better the #1. I received this through NetGalley (amazing site!) and was so excited! I’m still not used to receiving eARCs or ARCs in general.  I can’t believe my blog is already 6-7 months old!

Away from nostalgia, Spellcaster made me realize why I loved Cara Lynn’s writing so much. Not only did she create a whole bunch of legends and “spells” that caught my interest. You never really read a lot of stories about witches, you know? I mean, paranormal worlds have been taken over by the one we all know and love/hate: vampires. So reading a book with witches is different because they have advantages that vamps don’t have, and disadvantages that vamps don’t have. It wasn’t disorienting, but you could notice the change in…creature? For me, witches just seem more fun, more human, because really, they are humans. Just with a few gifts. And witches are something you can twist into a “good” or “evil” whereareas vampires, for some reason, always stay “evil”.

I loved the new conflict even better than the old one, where instead of just realizing that she was a witch who had found her soulmate, she had to fight for her soul mate. She had to get used to her powers. She had to learn how to control her gifts. And she had to trick a (quite literally) bloodthirsty witch who was hell-bent on making Emma pay. And all this a new witch has to deal with! Pretty intense. But Emma deals with it, still making time to care for her cousin, to still hide her secret, and deal with Kristin. So maybe emma’s not as kickass as some other characters, but Emma is strong, in her own way. And I think that the way she deals with things is better than how she reacts with things. Emma is definitely badass in her own way.

Reading Spellcaster  takes you to another one of Emma’s past lives, and I think I’m starting to see a pattern here even with only reading two books in the series: (a)We readers will see a short clip of Emma’s past lives through her dreams. (b) There will always be a story in Hadrian’s Medieval Legends that replays in the “present” and (c) Brendan and Emma will always be one of the cutest couples ever. So far, in both books all three have been proven true! Spellcaster was an amazing read that reminded why I first started reading. The thrilling good versus evil fights, the soul mates, the witches, all cliché, but all new in Spellcaster! They say sequels are a disappointment, but are they really? Well, maybe some, but Spellcaster? Not. At. All. If you say differently, please, I do not want to hear it. You can try, but I doubt you’ll convince me.

Pages: 384

Series: Spellbound #2

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Rating: 5 stars

"There was just me and her on this roof. And she wasn't going to stop. And if she got her powers back, revenge would be the first order of business. She would kill Brendan. She would take him away from me, away from this world."

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Goodreads Blurb

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone

i got this book from the publisher, thanks to NetGalley, and I am proud to say that Goddess Interrupted was my very first eARC! I had just finished Goddess Test the day I recieved this so the timing was great. Anyhow, on with the review:

As the 2nd book to Goddess Testm many of us readers had high expectations for Goddess interrupted, and I am pleased to say it did not dissapoint. Back from her summer in Greece with James, Kate is expecting Henry to welcome her back with the love she's not so sure is there. But Henry seems distracted, cold, and distant. Soon, Kate starts to doubt his love for her, and with that doubt comes her insecurity. After all, no matter where she goes, she feels like she's second-best in everything, reminded of Persephone, Henry's first wife, wherever she goes. To make matters worse, her coronation ceremony is interrupted by a creature so powerful, it is one of the only things able to kill the gods. And who but Calliope can be in charge of this plan? When Henry gets kidnapped, Kate is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means losing him. Oh, Kate...

Just by reading the prolouge, I felt shaken and worried for everyone in the book. The beginning just hooked you in, making sure that you would get sucked into the story. It was great seeing what the gods acted like when they weren't pretending to be someone else. But I did grow annoyed with henry. Sure, he's expected to be cautious because of Persephone, but he should realize that Kate wants to be there, with him.Of course, he is trying to protect Kate as well, but when Kate doesn't know that, it does seem as if he doesn't care anymore.

Aimee Carter's writing is just as great as in Goddess Test, if not more so. She takes the words of Greek Mytholygy and twists it into a new "history" so that it flows well with the story, backing up every action and detail. Every author has their talents, I guess this is Aimee's.

So my reactions to the story...I pratically ripped my hair out at the aloof scenes between Kate and Henry, screaming in annoyance. I almost cried along with Kate, heartbroken. I cheered, I yelled, I spouted profanities. And the ending? It made me stare at the book for what seemed like years, not believing any of it. It was such a sudden twist that made so much sense!

Goddess Interrupted was fast-paced, but not so much that it was action after action after action. This pace made me turn the pages quicker instead of making me go over each word so that I could understand what was happening. this book has everything we love in a book--Wonderful, descriptive writing, a protagonist we can relate to, a broken heart, action, drama, jealousy, confusion, romance, and a world of unknown.

Pages: 304

Series: Goddess Test #2

Genre: Romance/Greek Mytholygy

Rating: 4 stars

"I had to do this. For Henry’s sake-for my mother’s sake. For my sake. Because in the end, without Henry, I didn’t know who I was anymore.“



My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Goodreads Blurb

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

So I am participating in the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge hosted by fiktshun.com! Click here to go to the page. The funny thing is, this review was already half done! Anyways, on with the review.

This paranormal romance book is completely original and extremely addicting. Kaylee, who we should know is a banshee, at least, I hope we all know. If not, I'm sorry for ruining that for you. Anyways, Kaylee has no idea what or who she is until suddenly she almost screams in the middle of a bar. Almost. That's when Nash, popular boy, comes in to save the day. Mysteriously, with his changing eyes, he helps her swallow the urge to scream. Very intimate moment if you know what I mean. ;D

So since Fictionworld has been consumed with vampires, demons, and angels, it's nice to see a change of creatures. It's amazing that no one has thought of it before, but I can't think of a better way to write about them than Rachel Vincent who has made me change my mind about my favorite Supernatural creature. I absolutely loved Emma and Tod! Emma was the sweet friend who often was the other part of Kaylee and Tod was...well, he was Tod!

I loved how one thing led to the next...then the next...then the next. Chain reaction. I LOVE IT! The description of the Netherworld made me actually creeped out even though it shouldn't since it wasn't that scary, but thinking that...ugh. Never mind. Read it, and you'll see what I mean. Or is that just me?

With a spin on the bean sidhe legend, Miss Vincent makes us truly realize that sometimes the strangest things can make sense. The betrayal, the sudden romance, the witty comments make me absolutely fall in love with this series and I can't wait for book #6!

Pages: 258
Series: Soul Screamers #1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: 4 stars

"He took both of my hands, twisting to face me more fully on the flattened box beneath us, and again the colors in his irises seemed to pulse with my heartbeat."

Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads Blurb

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl—smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end—a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

This is, and will always be, my absolute favorite series and reading this was such a thrill!
The fourth, and final, book in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series, this book is in Team Ash's POV which had me, and many other girls, squealing with excitement. To see what the ice prince is feeling under all the layers? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! With Ash, Puck, and Grimalkin on another quest, this time for Ash instead of the NeverNever, we see the changes Meghan's absence has done to them, although Puck is still quite infuriating as usual.
When...a surprised guest shows up I jumped up and just stared at the book for the longest time then sat back down slowly. The same thing running through my head "It can't be, it can't be...I KNEW IT!!!"  You'll see another guest who most of you, if not all, will know from the novella Winter's Passage. Just a hint.
It was weird at first, I have to admit, being suddenly plopped into Ash's POV which is so unlike Meghan's you might as well compare ice to a cellphone! We do see a few similarities like Ash longing for Meghan and Meghan pining for Ash, their annoyed feelings toward Grimalkin and their...wariness of what lies ahead.
One of the things I hated so so much though, was that most of the time, it seems like...well, like Ash didn't really care if he was with Meghan or not, it was all "Because of the vow" stuff going on. Of course, the ending drove away all doubts, but still, this got on my nerves.
This book is one I've been with all the way. When the cover got revealed, when all the teasers were posted(many of which had me ripping out my hair), when the summary was revealed, when the Iron Knight first got released, and when the contest began.
So many parts had me crying, laughing, smiling, roaring, and all four at once! There was so much hurt, so many near escapes, so many...well, you'd have to read it to find out!
Did anyone hear of the spin-off series? Yeah? Who's excited?

Pages: 388

Series: Book 4 of the Iron Fey Series

Genre: Romance/Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Iron King by Julie Kagawa



Goodreads Blurb

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I forgot how I first got introduced to this book, but thank goodness I did! I've always been interested in the fey, the dangerous, cruel immortals instead of the fluttering pixies with glowing wings. Now, if you know you're urban mytholygy, all fey have an aversion to iron, right? Julie Kagawa plays on this legend and uses her imagination to dream up the Iron Fey, a new race of faeries who are made from the new dreams of mortals, dreams of science and technology. 

When the journey starts, it's Meghan's sixteenth birthday, a big thing for all teens. She swears this is going to be the day she gets her crush to notice her, but instead, she gets something she never thought possible. The knowledge of her true heritage, the entrance to a whole new world where Summer and  Winter are enemies and where there are many, many things that want to destroy her.

What I didn't catch at the beginning of this book, and what made me face-palm myself, was that her best friend is the one legendary faery that is not royalty, and yet is still so old. A few chapters in, I was hooked and Meghan was already running away from human-eating trolls and escaping death by a millimeter, not to mention meeting a faery cat that reminds me suspiciously of the Cheshire Cat. Don't tell him I said that. When reading this you won't be bored what with everything going on here and there.

Meghan's world is suddenly turned up. Side. Down. Especially when she discovers that her father wasn't her father, that she's half faery princess, that her best friend isn't human, that she's falling in love with someone who can never be with her and who's supposed to be your enemy. It's bound to happen.

This book is one of my favorites for many reasons. The characters will make you love them no matter how infuriating they are, you'll start to actually feel like you're in Arcadia, or the iron realm, and you'll experience the exact same emotions along with Meghan. I was so into this book that I read it in one sitting and into the night.

After reading this, you'll be making your parents buy you the next book, Iron Daughter, just to find out what happens with Ash, Robbie (insert wink), and Meghan! Plus there'll be the usual check-under-your-bed-for-bogies and look-at-computers-weirdly routine that you'll be experiencing every time you think of this book!

Pages: 363
Series: Iron Fey Book 1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars

"I glanced up and found his face inches from mine, his eyes searingly bright in the shadows of the room. Time seemed frozen around us."