Review: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder. 
… 
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

My Thoughts:
This is the second book I've read by Kelly Oram.  Her book If We Were a Movie was fantastic.  I wasn't surprised in the least that I LOVED this book.  This story brought on all the feelings!  From the pain & sorrow felt by Ella after her accident to the moments I laughed out loud at her & Cinder's banter.   It broke my heart as Ella worked through her issues with her dad.  I was glad the story was realistic when it came to that journey.  Ella & Cinder were amazing characters.  Both were witty and pragmatic.  They were each fighting a battle to control their own life and the support they gave each other was so sweet.  The way Cinder handled the debacle at the end was awesome!!   To sum up...this book was outstanding.  I finished in less than two days.  I will be reading more of Kelly's books you can count on that.

Recommended for 15 & up.  Mild to moderate adult situations & sexual content.

Review: O'er The River Liffey (Power of the Match Maker) by Heidi Ashworth

Irish heiress Caroline Fulton knows this house party, ostensibly celebrating the victory of Waterloo, is really an audition: will she make a suitable wife? Her host, an English lord, has already won over her father, who’s determined to buy a title with Caroline’s dowry. She is far from taken with the baron, however, especially once she meets Niall Doherty, the impoverished, perceptive tutor to her host’s younger brothers. He shares her love of Irish fairy tales and seems to guard a troubled past…but neither quality will earn Caroline’s father’s approval.

My Thoughts:
I don't usually prefer to read historical fiction.  This story was intriguing since it's part of the Power of The Match Maker series.  I had a little bit of a hard time with some of the language.  Once I got into the story I really enjoyed it.  I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters but I did really like Niall.  Caroline's father was at times a little pig-headed.  It brought to my attention how women were treated like property by the men in their lives.  I was glad when both Niall & Caroline decided to change their own destiny's.  I would have liked to see a little more of Pearl in this story.  I love the idea of her.  Overall this was a fun, quick read.  

Recommended for 15 & up.  

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Summoned by Rainy Kaye

Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told - literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker. Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. 

When he meets Syd - assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd - he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can't tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn't the type to tolerate secrets. 

Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl's ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming - the wish that will destroy him. 

A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him.

My Thoughts:
To be honest it took me a while to get into this one.  I think it's because Dimitri really isn't that likable at first.  For me it was how he kind of wallowed in self-pity.  His life as a genie sucks but I never understood why he didn't do anything to change it.  I wasn't sure what role Syd would have through the story until towards the end.  I think her showing up in Dim's life was a weird coincidence.  Things got better as the story progressed.  There were some unexpected twists at the end.  However, there was so much crammed into the final 2 chapters that there was a little confusion.  I hope some of that will be straightened out in the next book.  At this point I'm on the fence about the series.  I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters.  I felt sorry for them, but I never really got attached.  I will read the next book to see how things progress.  There's definitely potential.

Recommended for 17 & up.  Sexual content & moderate violence.  

I received this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review.