Review: Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He's trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won't get in to college. He's trying to keep his brother's business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He's trying to keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel - or he fears he'll lose his family. And he's trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his 'girlfriend's' partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

My Thoughts:
Brigid did an AMAZING job with some very sensitive subjects in this book.  I was bawling my eyes out in several parts because the anguish from Nick & Quinn was almost tangible.  The pain & love the Merrick brothers give each other left me a puddle of emotion. Kemmerer's writing is so visualizing I could see the whole book unfold in my mind.  From the angry, hurtful confrontations to the lighter moments that had me laughing out loud.  I don't know how anyone could read this series and not fall in love with every one of these characters.  You need to have read the other books in the series to know what's going on but they're all wonderful and fantastically written.  

Recommended for 15 & up.  Mild to moderate language and sexual content. 

Review: Lost in Starlight by Sherry Soule

Star reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.

Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.

They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova. 

Now Sloane’s learning to deal with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and getting a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating. But Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life....

My Thoughts:  
I had a really hard time getting through this one.  I'll start by saying I really liked that Sloane was described as "curvy" and not the average size "0" female heroin.  I didn't like all the ridiculous words she used to describe her breasts though.  And the hair chewing! Gross!!  I wasn't really impressed with the over kill of pop culture references either.  In fact I found myself skipping over several paragraphs that were saturated in over description only to find I hadn't missed a single thing.  I also started skipping over Sloane's Fright Night Babble posts.  Babble was an accurate description.  I thought they were a waste of time and they didn't enhance the story at all.  At about chapter 13 I started to wonder why it felt like I'd read this story and then I read other readers' reviews.  I agree that this was much like The Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout.  Sloane & Hayden's relationship wasn't all that unique or captivating.  Readers will find the last chapter is a flash back to New Moon by Stephanie Meyers.  I did like the ending though.  In fact it was the best thing about the book.  I'm thinking of reading the next book to see if it can pull this series into a spot light all its own.  I see huge potential if some of the fluff can be carved away.

Recommended for ages 15 & up.
Mild to moderate language & sexual content

Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Image & description from Goodreads.com

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

My Thoughts:
I requested this book to review on a whim.  I'm so glad I did!  I really enjoyed it.  I liked the concept of the story right away.  Violet has been chosen to be a surrogate and she must birth a designer heir for one of the royal families using the auguries.  I'm still not entirely sure what the auguries are and I wish the author would have explained a little more about them.  I would have also liked to know more about the world the island exists in.  Maybe more of this will be explained in the next book.  I liked Violet and her unwillingness to just accept her circumstances.  But I also begrudgingly liked the Duchess as well.  I think in some way she wants to care about Violet.  I don't know, maybe she'll end up an unexpected ally in the end. I loved how the author weaved the characters together and the way she connected their lives.  This has been one of those stories that's left me excited to find out more.  If you've read The Pledge by Kimberly Derting and liked it then you'll enjoy this one as well. I can't wait to read the next book.   

**Tiny spoiler ahead.**
One thing that I think was over looked was when a certain situation happens between Ash & Violet there would have been some serious fall out.  Considering Violet was being examined all the time and receiving evasive procedures I think the doctor would have noticed some physical changes in a part of her body.  That alone would have gotten her punished severely.

Recommended for 15 & up. 

Review: The Girl With The Windup Heart by Kady Cross

Image & Description from Goodreads.com

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

My Thoughts:

This was a fantastic ending to this series!  The characters were still engaging and awesome.  I loved getting to know more about Jack Dandy.  I'd really love to see Jasper get his own spin-off too.  As the Machinist seemed to have limitless power to hold Griffin prisoner in Aether Finley, Sam & Emily fight to get him back.  While this book was a bit of two stories that ended up merging in the end, it was weaved to perfection.  Although almost every member of the mis-fit gang used their talents to bring an end to The Machinist's reign of terror, it was Griffin who would have to face his own fears to realize that goal.  I'm sad that the series has come to end but I'm hopeful that doesn't mean an end to this amazing world Kady Cross has created.  I LOVE IT!  I want to see it in the movies one day. If you're looking for something original and captivating to read search no further.  

Recommended for 15 & up.