**Book Review** Immortal Obsession (Immortal Obsession #1) by Denise K. Rago

Reviewed By: Siobhán
Format: Paperback
Pages: 262
Published:  27th Sept 2010
Publisher: Createspace
Source: Author for Review
Genre:  Paranormal, Romance, Vampires
Buy:  Amazon UK / Amazon US / Book Depository

Description:

As a young man in eighteenth century France, Christian Du Mauré impulsively follows his best friend into the complex and warring world of the Parisian vampires. Against the backdrop of the French Revolution and following an affair with a mortal aristocrat, he promises to watch over her daughter - only to learn the child is his. Now settled in Manhattan, only two descendents of his union remain, Amanda and her brother, Ryan. After Amanda witnesses a savage murder in Central Park, she is determined to find the ethereal stranger who saved her life. When their worlds inevitably collide, Christian finds he cannot prevent Amanda from becoming a pawn in a centuries-old struggle for power. As a confrontation between ancient enemies comes to a head, Christian must face a betrayal from his past that still haunts him and threatens the woman he loves.

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Release Day Blitz: Discovery by Brina Courtney

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer...

 ...until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan's.

Now a guy, looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend, has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger, who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death.

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

About Brina Courtney

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Links:

Website 

 

Facebook

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Goodreads

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Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Reviewed by: Siobhán
Format: Hardback
Pages: 438
Published: 4th Oct 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Gift from Donna :)
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance, Angels
Buy: Amazon UK I Amazon US I Book Depository UK I Book Depository INT

Description:

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

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Wasteland (Wasteland #1) by Lynn Rush

Reviewed by: Destiny
Format: Kindle ebook
Published: September 1, 2011
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Source: Lynn Rush for Review
Genre: YA Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Buy: Amazon UK I Amazon US I Book Depository

Description:
Bound by the blood contract his human mother signed four centuries ago, half-demon, David Sadler, must obey his demonic Master's order to capture fifteen-year-old Jessica Hanks. But as he learns more about her, he realizes she may be the key to freedom from his dark enslavement.

The only obstacle-Jessica's distractingly beautiful Guardian, Rebeka Abbott. He must not give in to their steamy chemistry, or he will lose his humanity. But fresh off a quarter millennia of sensory deprivation as punishment for not retrieving his last target, he may not be able to resist temptation long enough to save what's left of his human soul.

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Blog Tour: Between (Crossroads #2) by Mary Ting

May be spoilery if you haven't read book 1

Reviewed by: Siobhán
Format: eArc
Pages: 330
Published: 5th Jan 2012
Publisher: World Castle Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal, Romance
Source: Author for review
Buy: Amazon UK I Amazon US I

Description:
As the alkins head back to Crossroads, Claudia leads her normal life; but not for long. Having a special soul, Claudia attracts danger, and she soon finds out who Gamma asked to watch over her. The Twelve, known as Divine Elders on Earth, are very much involved when they find out that Aliah, one of the God’s first angels, escaped from the Abyss when the gates were opened by Aden. Needing Claudia’s soul to escape the only place Aliah can reside–a place between Heaven and Earth–he sends his demons in search of all Claudia Emersons on Earth. Taking her soul will enable him to be released from Between and cross over to Crossroads, which would give him immense power. As more secrets are revealed Claudia learns about the venators—nephilim, demon hunters. Now two opposing forces must work together in order to save Claudia and humanity from the most dangerous angel ever created. But along the way, trust becomes a big issue. Will love be enough to keep Claudia and Michael together? Who will make the ultimate sacrifice? Who will betray them all?

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Carrier of the Mark (Carrier Trilogy #1) by Leigh Fallon

Format: Paperback
Pages: 342
Published: 27th Oct 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Genre: Ya Paranormal, Romance
Buy: Amazon UKIAmazon USI Book Depository

Description:

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction

Review:

After reading a few mixed reviews on this book I was a little worried. However, when I received a copy for review from HarperCollins UK I was really excited about it Just because it was set in Ireland. And I when I read it I found that I really did enjoy it.

Carrier of the Mark is about Megan who moves to the US to Ireland with her dad. She quickly befriends Caitlin and Jennifer at school on her first day as well as feeling a pull towards Adam DeRÍs. The "odd" handsome boy at school. Soon she is pulled into a world full of love, passion and power she doesn't understand.

Carrier of the Mark is the first book in a trilogy and I thought it was great read. Megan is our main characters and I am not going to lie, I am really unsure if I like her or not. She isn't a bad character. She loves her dad and doesn't moan about being moved around to much. But there is just something that bugs me about her. And I did think that the relationship she had with Adam is a big part of. I like romance, I do but that instant connection and how their relationship played out just didn't seem believable. It was to rush. However, I do like Adam. And in a way I get why she is drawn to him. He is dark, handsome and a little bit scary at times.

I think I enjoyed the secondary cast more though. I loved Áine, Adam's twin. She is adorable and fun and I just wanted to be friends with her. I was also really drawn to Rían there older brother. I don't know why. I think it was because his power is so dangerous.

The big things I loved about this book is the setting and the mythology used it. It's set in Ireland! Yes, Ireland. I am so used to reading books set in America this was such a freshing change. I have never been to Ireland (I know shame on me, it's only across the water from me) so of course I don't actually know what it like and even though the setting isn't a big part of the story I still felt like I could have been there. Oh and of course, because it's in Ireland I have the accents for some of the characters in my head and man I love an Irish accent, makes me weak at the knees. The Celtic Mythology plays a massive part to this story. It's fantastic! (Dont want to say anything incase I spoil the story) I also liked that Leigh has brought in Irish names, proper Irish name with the Irish spellings. I understand stood them but it was good that she manages to weave in the correct pronouncation into characters conversations.

However, and this a kind of a big HOWEVER, there are some parts of this book that really annoyed me. It's quite slow at times and - I think this is in everyones reviews - there are alot of similarities to Twilight. Yes, I adore Twilight you guys know I do but I don't wanna see another book trying to be Twilight. I don't think this was intentional and some aren't even that noticeable to some but because I am a twilight freak I  did noticed (See Misty @ The Book Rat's Comparision Sheet SPOILERS)


Overall, though apart from the few things that bugged over. Carrier of the Mark is a great read and a perfect starter novel to the trilogy. I can't wait to see what's next for Megan and Adam and the rest of the characters.


Rate: 4/5

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Ghost of a Chance (One Night Stand #44) by Deena Remiel

Format: Kindle ebook
Published: October 11, 2011
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Genre: Adult Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Description:

Susannah’s married to her career. And she’s about ready for a divorce. Drowning in grief over the loss of her husband years ago, she initially immersed herself in a high-powered position at her marketing firm. But recently, she’s lost that loving feeling. Is she finally able to accept that her need for a man, for love in her life is stronger than her desire to bury it? Remy, once a high-profile building magnate, is a ghost of a man, literally. Cursed by a vengeful ex-wife he neglected, he’s relegated to shadows of his former world. She meant for him to spend the rest of his life without the chance of normalcy ever again, and he believed she succeeded. But could there be a way out? Susannah and Remy, two people ghosting through life, until they are brought together by a fateful One Night Stand. Both are seeking re-entry to the land of the living and loving. Can they fulfill each other’s deepest desires and learn what it means to live again?

Review:

Deena Remiel wrote another winning read with Ghost of a Chance!! The story is centered around Susannah, a young widow who decides to jet off to Vegas for the weekend and indulge in a one-night stand. To do so, she enlists the help of matchmaker Madame Evangeline, who pairs her with Remy Charles, who has been cursed by his ex-wife and her voodoo loving friend to be a ghost of a man until he can find love.

This was a rather short book, but Deena Remiel made the most of each page. The first line drew me in and I literally read the book in one sitting. The characters were incredibly likeable and easy to relate to and I found myself rooting for them to find a way to break the curse so they could find love!

As a part of Decadent Publishing's One Night Stand series, this book is a little heavy on the romance and is quite sensual at times. Deena Remiel writes those scenes in a way that will make any woman swoon and want the same for herself!!

Deena Remiel's writing is once again spectacular, the plot is unique, well-executed, and this is a book I would highly recommend to any lover of paranormal romance!

Rate: 5/5

*** Also be watching the blog for a special appearance celebrating Ghost of a Chance on November 3, 2011***

Purchase your own copy of Ghost of a Chance: Amazon, AmazonUK, Decadent Publishing

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Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Format: Paperback
Pages: 434
Published: 5th Oct 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Description:

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will left howling alone at the lonely moon.

Review:

I first read this back when it was first released. I was looking for something that was a little different to my usual vampire reads at the time. When I first seen this it was a stunning cover that caught my eye than I read what it was about and I just had to buy it. So glad I did.

Shiver follows the story of two main characters. Grace, girl who has been obsess with the wolves that live in the woods behind her house. And Sam, a boy who in Summer is your regular teenage boy but in winter he turns into a wolf. When the are thrown together they struggle to stop Sam from shifting back into a wolf. And pretty soon they are coming to the face the fact that the next time Sam shifts he wont turn human again.

I honestly adore this book. It was such an easy read. And even though I have read it 3 times now it still hasn't lost is magic to captivate me. The story of Shiver is a quite a unique take on werewolves I haven't read anything like it before and still haven't found a werewolf novel that I love so much as this.

The characters in the story I feel are what make the story. Of course the story itself is fascinating. However, I think its the chemistry between Grace and Sam that truely make the story what it is. The two main characters have this undeniable bound even before they knew each other.

Maggie has created a breathtaking and beautiful story about young love that leave you entralled from start to finish.

Rate: 5/5

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Crossroads by Mary Ting

Format: Hardback
Pages: 384
Published: 6th April 2011
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Genre: YA Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Description:
On the same night of her friend’s tragic death, Claudia Emerson encounters another world, Crossroads, through her dream. There, she learns about a mix breed of angels and humans, who possess supernatural powers. Among those with these powers, lies evil, known as the fallen. Mystified by her ability to enter this place called Crossroads, certain that the fallen will be after her, she is assigned a guardian angel named Michael. Aden, the fallen leader, is convinced that Claudia holds the key to help destroy Crossroads. Her dream becomes a nightmare as more secrets are revealed, about who she really is, and the true identities of the people she loves most.


Review:
WOW!! Seriously just WOW! Crossroads is one of those stories that you can just lose yourself in. With a gripping storyline and adorable main characters its everything that is wonderful about Young Adult Literature.

Crossroads is about 16 year old Claudia who while sleeping enters into a world called the Crossroads. There she meets Michael who has fallen in love with her before she even knew him. However, Claudia shouldn't be able to get into the Crossroads and soon everything she thought was true in life is turned upset down and she is being hunted by fallen angels.

The characters in this book are all so likeable. Claudia is really down to earth and even when faced with terrible situations she is still strong. When she meets Michael she is completely smitten. It's really easy to understand why. Even though at first Michael is rude to her. It's only because he confused about why he is feeling human emotional. You see Michael is an Alkin, half angel and half human. It's not long though until they are both madly in love and seriously the thing Michael say's to Claudia is so romantic it makes me jealous. My favourite character is another angel, Davin. He is just so funny and cute. There is just something that make you connect with him. He is just an all round nice person who is loyal to his friends.

Now the story at first was a little slow for the first couple of chapters. However, after I got into it I was completely hooked! The storyline is simply fantastic!! It's about angel but Mary has created a story that is completely different to more angel stories. She has put alot of Mythology behind her angels and it just makes the readers understand and connect easier with the characters.

Crossroads is a beautifully written debut novel that has everything you need for a outstanding read. Forbidden love, danger, angels and demons what not to love?

I just want to thank Mary for giving me this wonderful book for review. As well as the hardback book I also got a fab bag that is now my library bag and a beautiful neckless that I gave to my mum for her birthday because she loved it so much! Lol. Also stay tuned as there will be giveaway coming soon for the paperback copy of this book as well as teh bag and necklace donated by Mary.

Rate :4/5

Order your copy: Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Mary's Site

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No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Cafe #1) by Rose Pressey

Format: Kindle ebook

Published: June 1, 2011
Publisher: Rose Pressey
Genre: Adult Fantasy, Paranormal

Description:
Elly Blair welcomes the chance to escape her ex-fiance and job from hell when Grandma Imelda, ready to retire to sunny Florida, calls for her to take over her little southern cafe.

Elly has no idea her grandmother has baked up magic for the unsuspecting townsfolk for thirty years-and now Grandma Imelda insists that Elly use her own hitherto unsuspected magical powers to carry on the family tradition.

But Elly's new at this stuff. Her dishes don't turn out as full of smidgens of enchantment and dashes of wishes come true as she'd hoped. When handsome customer Rory Covington takes a bite of the wrong burger, he ends up capturing the attention of every woman in town. Elly doesn't know if her feelings for Rory are true or based on her magic gone awry.

Tom Owenton is an investigator the National Organization for Magic sent to look into the magical mishap. Unless Elly can reverse the spell, the cafe will be closed permanently. Tom is more than willing to help Elly out of this magical pickle, but she's not sure she should accept his offer.

Elly only has forty-eight hours to find a way to reverse the spell, or she'll lose the cafe and never discover if her feelings for Rory are real.

Review:
Rose Pressey delivers another dose of her quirky sense of humor with this new series! From the beginning of the book, I was laughing out loud! Main character Elly Blair not only inherits a cafe from her grandma Imelda, but a large helping of chaos when she discovers the cafe come with a side order of magic!

Grandma Imelda has been helping the local townspeople by serving their food spiced with a splash of her special magic. Most are general spells, the feel better-no arthritis pain-spell or maybe even a cheer up spell. Elly has this same magic in her genes and while she's not quite ready to take over, Grandma is on her way to soak up the sun, assuring Elly all is well because she's done her practice spells perfectly.

All goes well and the characters are riots...until Elly's best friend/waitress accidentally gives the wrong customer the wrong magic--a love spell of all things! This spell not only backfires on Elly because she shouldn't have done it, but also because she had her eye on the customer, Rory. From here on out, Elly's world is a series of magical chaos, magical interventions, interruptions, and love spells gone awry - many courtesy of Tom Owenton from the National Organization for Magic, who is supposed to be overseeing and helping Elly in her time of need!

Elly has only 48 hours to reverse this spell gone wrong or she may lose her cafe, her friends, her family's trust, and possibly even her heart.

This book is hilarious, fast-paced, romantic, and has a fantastic twist at the end! I am so excited this is the beginning of a series because there are so many characters in this book I would love to revisit!

Rate: 5/5

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Embody (Insight #2) by Jamie Magee

Format: ARC Ebook
Published: 7th June 2011
Publisher: Lulu.com
Genre: YA Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Description:
Not many Scorpio’s are known for their patience, and Willow Haywood is no different. Her only desire is to love Landen Chambers and redeem the lost souls of Esterious, but the path to that desire is long, dark and dangerous... Before Willow’s life had a chance to balance the sudden revelations and grief she had to endure to get to Chara a disturbing discovery is made. A photo, one that shows Willow blissfully embracing the flawless image of Drake Blakeshire; giving her not only proof that she had lived before, but that she had loved him. Running away from the memory of Drake’s hypnotizing touch, and the prophecy set before her seemed like the logical thing to do. That is, until a dark dream reignites her passion to save the hopeless dimension of Esterious. Willow struggles to find patience – to learn everything she needs to know before she faces Drake again, but her eagerness is dangerous and one step in the wrong direction takes everything and everyone away from her – the only way to survive this trial is for Willow to remember who she is and what she really wants out of this life. The question is….can she do that?

Review:
A massive thank you to Jamie for letting me review a PDF Arc copy of this book. I was blown away yet again by the story just like I was blown away with Insight.

Embody is the second novel in the Insight Series and takes place just shortly after Book 1 finished. Willow and Landan are enjoying the time together until they are told that Drake is back and that they must prepare for the next trial. With the revelation of this new trial it sees Willow and Landan learning new abilities and teach others aswell.

Willow and Landan are just wonderful to read. They are just this perfect couple that just fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. They are both very strong willed characters and they would do anything to protect each other as well as those they love. And even though I should have been rooting for them I was really drawn to Drake. I think its the bad boy image (yes I'm sucker for a bad boy). Drake has always believed that Willow was his and we find out something suprising about Drake and Willow in the installent. None of these characters are my favourite though. I love little Libby and I love her bound with Preston. They are both so mature for their age and have truely astonishing abilities.

Jamie has yet again created a wonderful and unique story that will take you through all the emotions. This is the genius of a talented story teller. The world that has been create is interesting and I felt like I was there along side with the characters, going through the events at the their side.

This series is going to be massive hit I think and it has something for everyone, love, danger, adventure. I suggest if you haven't read the first book please pick it up now! You will sure to get pulled into this enchanting series and with the ending of each book will leave you begging for more.

Rate: 5/5

Visit Jamie: [Website][Insight Facebook][Twitter]

Once the books are up on Amazon I will add link

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