I want to start out by saying how much I love anything published by this author.  Heather Killough-Walden (HKW) is an amazing author that has a superb way with words.  Her words suck you in and you simply cannot escape.  Its lovely.

My copy of this book was given to me by the author herself.  She's awesome like that with people that give her honest reviews.  None of my reviews have EVER been bad, she's that good.  Honest.

So now on to the book.  "The Phantom King" is the next edition in the newest series by HKW, "The Kings".  A spin off series from her super popular Big Bad Wolf series (if you haven't' read those, you really should, serious.  Get on it)  Based on clues from the first 2 books in "The Kings" series, I am assuming we will see 13 books in this series (squeal).  In book 2, we meet The Phantom King, Thanatos. The very lonely king of purgatory.  Going by Thane, the phantom king really kinda hates his job.  Purgatory is a place for innocent and murdered souls, and Thane just hates the amount of work he has because of the violence and destruction in the world, which takes innocent lives that he is responsible for greeting upon their arrival in purgatory. Very Lonely indeed.

When a strange spirit is sent to Purgatory, only to disappear again back to the human plane, Thane has no choice but to leave purgatory and go find him.  A spirit can't just walk out of purgatory, its simply not done.  Calling in a favor to the Warlock King, Thane sets out to find his jail breaker so he can return to purgatory and his lonely lifestyle.  When he locates his missing spirit he also finds something else he needs more.

Siobhan is a woman on the run.  An unknown creature has murdered her boyfriend and she fears that they are coming after her and Siobhan, a warlock by birth, has been hiding ever since.

Together Thane and Siobhan have to find out who is after her and why, and stop them so the phantom king can claim his queen.


I never have anything bad to say about a HKW book.  The plot is amazing, the action is awesome, and of course, you have that "juicy" part that you can't put down.

Flash Gold: Book 1 in the Flash Gold chronicless

I ran across these little novella's while searching a few blogs.  Every now and then a blog will post about freebies and I'll go check em out and see if it tickles my fancy.
Flash Gold tickled my fancy.  I had heard about Steam Punk novels, but have never read one or come across one.  So this was my first, and it wont' be my last.

This book starts out in the Yukon, in the winter with an 18 year old girl living on her own and lying low to save her life.  Kali McAlister  is the daughter of an alchemist.  An alchemist that had created the world's most powerful energy source, then died.  Leaving his 18 year old daughter with the only known supply and no knowledge of how to make more.  Everyone wants this energy source, known as "Flash Gold".  Kali wants out of the Yukon.  After building her own steam powered "dog" sled, Kali enters a race, the winner gets 1000.00 .  That's enough money to get her started on her next project which will help her get away from the Yukon and all the dangers of man.  Of course, an 18 year old girl all alone on a trail during a dog sled race is bound to call attention to her.  Especially when her sled isn't exactly pulled by dogs.  Enter Cedar.  Her new "bodyguard".  What she doesn't know is that Cedar has a little secret of his own.. And its a shocker...

This was a really good read.  And for my first "Steam Punk" book I was really happy with it.  They aren't very long, Novella's usually aren't, but I think it still took me about an hour and a half or so to read each one which isn't to bad.  The price was good, the book was good, all around good.  Go for it.

Hunted: Book 2 in the Flash Gold chronicles by Lindsay Buroker

Book 2 in "The Flash Gold Chronicles"  finds Kali face to face with a very unwelcome person from her past.  Sebastian has returned and he has an ultimatum.

After returning to town, Sebastian finds Kali and tells her he has laid claim to a patch of land in this, the gold rush era.  With Kali's gadgets and tinkering ability, Sebastian offers her a job on his claim inventing devices to help him find gold quickly.  What Sebastian doesn't count on. Cedar.  The other thing Sebastian doesn't count on?  Cedar's ultimatum.

New threats arise in this installment when Kali comes face to face with her father's research partner.  The woman that helped him create Flash Gold. The woman who wants nothing more than to destroy it and anyone with the knowledge of its creation. And of course, there's Sebastian's ultimatum.  Once again, Kali finds herself risking her life to save the secret that flash gold holds.

Seems everyone has an ultimatum in this edition, which one do you think preservers?

PeaceMaker: Chapter 3 in the Flash GOld chronicles by Lindsay Buroker

Book 3 in "The Flash Gold Chronicles" finds us in the midst of building the much anticipated airship.  From scratch.  Cedar has decided to make himself scarce leaving Kali to build the airship on her own.

During a late night construction project, one of Kali's booby traps is set off and she goes to investigate which leads her to a man hanging by his ankles.  After a mild conversation, she lets him down only to be interrupted by the scream of a woman in trouble.  Running in the direction of the sound, they find a grisly scene and are now faced with a new threat, a serial killer.

In this installment, Kali and Cedar have once again teamed up.  This tie they need to stop a murderer before he can strike again, and Kali could be his next target.  Between keeping her flash gold safe and keeping herself alive, Cedar and Kali are having a little trouble taking their relationship to the next level.

 With an anticipated character finally showing up and an unwanted character showing up at the worst time, Kali might never finish her airship.

I really liked this edition.  I haven't read a steam punk novel or novella before these chronicles and I gotta say they are extremely interesting and I look forward to the next chapter.

Blood of Destiny: book 6 in the Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

Book 6 in this series was probably one of my favorites.  Xandra and Kallen have confessed something to King Dagda who at first doesn't believe them.  Why would he?  There's no proof right?  During a heated argument with her father, he looses his temper and begins to change into his animal form, the black stag.  Pissed off and annoyed at him for both not believing her and then for changing when he comes to terms with it, she begins her OWN transformation into her animal form, and what she becomes is spectacular (I won't tell you what it is though).

Now, if you read the last book "Blood of Half Gods" you would know that a certain angel has made a little deal with our witch fairy, and he's come to collect.  The first of his favors involves a few field trips where Xandra and Kallen are to find 3 fallen angels and bring them home till the second favor is called in.  With each field trip, Xandra learns a little more about different realms and cultures and we see her begin to mature a little more into her role as the prophesied witch fairy. She also gets to meet a new fallen angel with each trip and nobody has any answers about the grand scheme of things.

After retrieving the fallen angels, Xandra is once again faced with a few new foes, several ultimatums and a whole new group of lies and half truths.  What is she to believe and will her decision be the right one?  The balance of everything depends on that last answer...  Go read it to find out if the cowan realm will remain safe...  you live here, it's probably a good idea to make sure..... ;)

Blood of Destiny: book 6 in the Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

Blood of Half Gods: book 5 in the witch fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

Book 5 in the witch fairy series finds us tagging along with Xandra, Kallen, Dagda, Alita and Kegan as they travel to the village of the Giants.

As the Pooka King, Dagda is responsible for maintaining the peace in his kingdom and since the Giants have decided to start a nice little feud that is slowly escalating into an all out war, Xandra has agreed to accompany her father in what could be another witch fairy situation.

Strange things start to happen with Xandra when she learns she has a new ability.  She can teleport WITHOUT her angel wings.  Now that's impossible right?  That's what everyone else thinks, but its true.  She can teleport.  And she does, when Kallen and herself are caught in a sticky situation where King Dagda is forced to give them "the talk" she can't help but disappear out of sheer embarrassment. Where she ends up is another mystery all together.  Faced with 3 new characters, Xandra has to solve this new mystery and prevent a Giant war.   I highly recommend this book cause anticipated things come to pass and you you can't help but notice as Xandra begins to mature and accept her role as this prophesied creature.

Shadow Blood: Book 4 in the Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

Shadow Blood takes a neat turn in this saga.  Aunt Barb and Zach have astral projected themselves into the shadow realm.  Its up to Xandra to go in after them, and lucky for her, she's part angel so it should be no problem right?  Well, maybe...

Xandra finds herself on the hunt for her aunt and brother.  Guided into the shadow realm by another angel with a bit of an attitude, Xandra finds them and brings them back, but they aren't alone. Xandra is hearing voices, she can't remember doing things that her friends tell her she's done, and her friend Alita has been having mega migraines ever since Xandra got back from the shadow realm.  What is going on?

Your never gonna see this one coming and I can't be the one to spoil it for you.  This review is rather short I know, but to much and you'll know it all, then what fun would it be for you when you read the book?  Because your gonna read it, so just go get it.  Go on, I'll wait.

Blood Lines: book 3 in the Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

Book 3 is a fantastic addition.  I was so excited when it came out.  This chapter in the Witch Fairy series has Xandra, Kallen, and grandma Iris traveling back into the Fey realm, where it is up to Xandra to convince her father, King Dagda, that peace between the realms is imperative. Upon entering the fey realm, Xandra is presented with several new challenges and meets a few new friends, one of which is Kallen's almost identical cousin, Kegan.  Not only does she have to deal with the 2 cousins and their fight over her heart, she also gets to work through Kallen's past and the girl who wants Xandra dead for stealing him away.  Along the way, King Dagda's followers start to mutiny against him, thinking their king is a failure for not opening the realms.  Now she gets to add biological father babysitting to her list of things to do.

There are several, and I do mean several parts of this book that had me laughing hard.  I mean funny stuff.  Xandra doesn't know how powerful she is in the fey realm.  Without the pollution and damage the human realm has done to the earth, the fey realm is pure and therefore the magic is stronger.  Xandra does several laugh out loud things that make the story even better. And like the first 2, I couldn't put it down and it was over before I knew it.  Lucky for me the 4th book was waiting...

Blood Prophecy: Book 2 in the Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer

The thing about this book is, the first sentence picks up right where the author ended True of Blood.  If she hadn't stopped it there, you would have never known the books were separated. It was great!  You didn't have to think back to what it was that you just read, cause it never actually stopped.

 Blood prophecy takes a different angle in the Xandra saga.  Book 1 was about her father trying to kill her. Book 2, her grandfather is trying to kill her.  Poor girl, its rough being the Witch Fairy.

This book tells us about her mother's side of the DNA pool, her witch side.  Xandra's mother also just so happens to be the daughter of the King of witches, making her the princess.  Her mother, a surprise lurks there... shh

Grandpa witch king wants Xandra dead. According to the prophecy, Xandra can do no good and will only cause destruction.  This is his interpretation, so, along with his "board" of witches, he travels to the remote little cabin in the mountains of Colorado to take care of what he believes will destroy balance in the human realm.  He already thinks she's an abomination cause of her tainted fey blood.

After several failed attempts, it becomes obvious that Xandra is far more powerful than the entire group of witches and proves it when she, one by one, teaches them each an individual lesson, personalized to the specific witch. It was wonderful, I wanted to be a witch fairy so bad after reading this, lol

In this chapter of the Witch Fairy series, we learn what exactly the prophecy means and where Xandra gets her magical DNA.  I won't tell you cause I want you to read it for yourself :) So go, read it.  On Nook or Kindle, go now..

True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer

You know how every once in awhile you find that series that you just can't get enough of?  You stalk the author's face book and blogs for the tiniest iota of information regarding the next release, or anything related to it in any way?  That's this series right here.  The Witch Fairy series by Bonnie Lamer.

I knew in the first 3 pages that this book was gonna keep me up all night reading.  And I wasn't wrong.  In the first few pages we learn that Xandra is a 17 year old girl, her parents have died and are floating around the house in spirit form while her living breathing aunt Barb cares for her and her younger brother Zach.  Her dad, even in ghost form, continues to educate the children with homeschooling lessons, tests and homework.  Everything is fine and well even though ma and pa have departed.

Within the first 2 or 3 chapters we discover a little secret about Xandra.  Her mother was a witch and her biological father is the king of the Pooka Fey, making her the prophesied Witch Fairy. A witch fairy that has no idea what magic is or how to harness her powers.  Her father wants her dead, her blood will re-open the portal between the human and faerie realms allowing him and his fey brethren to return to the human realm and wreak havoc and destruction.  This can't happen.  enter Kallen.  A very powerful Sheahogue fey, sent through the temporary portal to help Xandra overcome the threat that is at her door. With Kallen's help, Xandra learns a bit of control over her powers and is able to defeat the fey that threaten her home, sending them back through a portal only she can create.  Unfortunately for her, that's only the beginning of her troubles.  She is the Witch fairy of prophecy after all..

Witchful Thinking by H.P.Mallory

Let me start off by saying how much I was looking forward to this book.  I read the first 2 and thought they were great.  This one, not so much.  In fact it was terrible, here is why:

The entire book is pretty much a summary of the first 2 books.  You could completely skip the first 2 books and still know everything that is going on and be up to date.

The love/hate relationship between the 2 main characters is extremely annoying.  I got really tired of reading the same scenario chapter after chapter.  Each chapter is about 30% story, and 70% feel sorry for me, you love me, you hate me whining. I seriously had to force myself, I repeat, FORCE myself to finish the book and that was ONLY to find out the Vampire's ultimatum.

The chapters that were strictly journal entries both annoyed me on my nook because of the straight flow of italics that were NOT easy on the eyes, and of course, more whining.  Why doesn't he love me, what should I do?  I miss the Rand from the 1800s, I hate my life, blah blah blah.

This book was like reading the journal of a moody teenager going through puberty. yes it was that bad.
We already knew Jolie was gonna be a queen, we already knew that her and Rand had a thing when she time traveled and we already knew that Sinjin was in love with her.  The author made a point of reminding us these about this throughout the entire book, it seriously took away from the story and what she COULD have been writing about.

7.99 for this nook book made me squirm in my seat after reading it and wanting more than anything, an option to return for a full nook refund.

Now, there are certain points to this book that were NOT terrible.  We learned a little about this ultimate enemy, and Sinjin was a little sneaky (I won't say why cause that would ruin it for those that DO want to read it)

I feel terrible about bad reviews, I really do, but this one can't be helped.  Sorry H.P. Mallory  maybe next time.

Spring into the Big Bad World contest/giveaway

So one of my favorite authors, Heather Killough Walden is having a little contest to help promote her next book.  Now, Heather is the contest queen, and I love that she does them for her fan base.  Its wonderful.  Below you will find the rules, and the prize list for her latest giveaway:

Spring into the Big Bad World Contest/Giveaway 

Rules, instructions, and details:

You know those wonderful Youtube videos people make in honor of their favorite movie, TV show, or book series? They splice together images from the shows themselves or from something non-related and put these images to music in a meaningful manner to create something totally new in order to pay homage to whatever it is they’re obsessed with?
That’s what I want you to do for me. ☺
Create a video/montage to some great song that you feel does the Big Bad World justice and post it to Youtube. This means it can be about anything from any of the four Big Bad Wolf books or from the first book in The Kings series, The Vampire King. Once you’ve finished, send me the link to the Youtube video in a private message via Facebook. Heather's facebook   I will compile all of these and put them up on a single website. At the end of one month, I will open the website up for voting. Readers/fans/participants will get to vote for whatever video they like the best.

The winner(s) will receive the following items:
1. Signed copies of each of the first three books in the Lost Angels series (as they are released), plus one of each for a friend.
2. Signed Lost Angels T-shirt (size medium)
3. A free copy of each of my ebooks for himself/herself and a friend
4. The opportunity to help choose the name of one of the heroines or heroes from an upcoming novel (one winner will pick from a list of names for the heroine, a possible second winner will choose from a list of names for the hero)
5. A mention in the acknowledgements section of one of my print books

Stipulations:
1. At least five people must compete with viable videos/montages for the contest to hold and not be canceled. If more than twenty people compete, there will be two winners.
2. For international winners, please be patient about mailings. It can be very costly and time consuming to mail outside of the US.
3. Please remember to post a disclaimer at the end of your video/montage re: the music and the images and state that they are not yours and that you’re just borrowing them (just in case)
4. You must have fun!!

Again, you have a month to create yoru best video/montage, get it posted to Youtube, and send me the link. Have a blast exploring your own impressions of who would make the perfect Malcolm Cole or Jesse Graves. Who is your Gabriel Phelan? What images/scenes can you borrow to replicate what happens in The Strip? The Hunt? The Vampire King? Who is your Roman D’Angelo? And what is his song? ☺ xoxoxo


**********  This is a fantastic giveaway with amazing prizes.  Go forth and be creative and enjoy your talent.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!!!  Below is my own entry, enjoy :)
Torri's contest entry <3

"The Vampire King" by Heather Killough-Walden

So, I've been very fortunate to have been chosen to do a review of this book by the author herself, Heather Killough-Walden.  I've read every one of her books and have come to expect a certain flavor from her work.  Yes I said flavor.  I call my apple shampoo a yummy smelling flavor, but that's beside the point, I've had my first taste of "The Kings" series, and now my taste buds are itching for more.

"The Vampire King" is book one in her new series "The Kings".  An amazing spin-off from her best selling Big Bad Wolf series, HKW left nothing out. Now while its not necessarily required that you read the BBW series before starting this spin-off series, lets face it, it wouldn't hurt.  Besides, your gonna want more of HKW once you start, might as well just go for it. 

In "The Vampire King" old characters return, new enemies surface and as I have come to expect in true HKW fashion, we have a sexy supernatural dude and a gorgeous damsel in distress.  I love the damsel in distress, and with Heather's words you can't help but feel like you should be part of that world, its a wonderful break from reality and a great gift from the author, that little daydream.

Evie is a normal girl.  Roman is the Vampire King.  Evie has drawn the attention of not 1, but 2 very powerful vampires.  One of them being Roman, the other being Charles, a disgruntled vampire hell bent on the ultimate revenge for the murder of a very dear and close friend.  In a ~ can't put it down cause I'm dying to see what happens next ~ game of cat and mouse, Roman must save Evie from the wrath of Charles or risk losing the only thing he's lived 3000 years to claim....  

Book 1 in "The Kings" is an addicting tale, full of action and adventure, lust, magic and more.  Like I said, I've tasted this flavor, now give me the rest of the kool-aid;)

I cannot wait for the next chapter in "The Kings" series

So, I've been very fortunate to have been chosen to do a review of this book by the author herself, Heather Killough-Walden.  I've read every one of her books and have come to expect a certain flavor from her work.  Yes I said flavor.  I call my apple shampoo a yummy smelling flavor, but that's beside the point, I've had my first taste of "The Kings" series, and now my taste buds are itching for more.

"The Vampire King" is book one in her new series "The Kings".  An amazing spin-off from her best selling Big Bad Wolf series, HKW left nothing out.  Old characters returned, new enemies surfaced and as I expect in true HKW fashion, we have a sexy supernatural dude and a gorgeous damsel in distress.  I love the damsel in distress, and with Heather's words you can't help but feel like you should be part of that world, its a wonderful break from reality and a great gift from the author, that little daydream.

Evie is a normal girl.  Roman is the Vampire King.  Evie has drawn the attention of not 1, but 2 very powerful vampires.  One of them being Roman, the other being Charles, a disgruntal vampire hell bent on the ultimate revenge for the murder of a very dear and close friend.  In a ~ can't put it down cause I'm dying to see what happens next ~ game of cat and mouse, Roman must save Evie from the wrath of Charles or risk losing the only thing he's lived 3000 years to claim....  

Book 1 in "The Kings" is a great story, full of action and adventure, lust and magic.  Like I said, I've tasted this flavor, now give me the rest of the kool-aid;)

I cannot wait for the next chapter in "The Kings" series

This blog post is both a pleasure and an honor.  New York Times best selling author Heather Killough-Walden has agreed to post about her newest series, "The Kings".  The first novel in this highly anticipated series is called "The Vampire King".  Keep reading to find out more:

It was immediate for Roman. In three thousand years, he’d never lost control of his emotions, or his heart. But the moment he laid eyes on Evelynne Farrow, he knew she was the woman who haunted his dreams. And everything changed.

Everything.

Evie Farrow has always loved a good vampire romance.  In fact, she makes a living writing them. While sitting in a coffee shop and working on her next mega-hot book, Evie is approached by a tall, dark, and handsome man who could have been pulled directly from one of her novels. 

Unbeknownst to her, Roman D’Angelo is exactly what he appears to be – a vampire, and not just any vampire, but the king of vampires.

Unfortunately, while Roman is both ancient and invulnerable, Evie is flesh and blood. Just as Roman decides that he and Evie have a date with destiny, for reasons of their own, an ancient god and a homicidal vampire take an equally strong interest in her. To make things more complicated, there’s something very special about Evie. Something not quite human.

Can Roman fight off the incredible forces that would have Evie as their own long enough to win her heart, or will destiny betray him, and destroy everything he has ever dreamed of?

~~~~~~Think that was juicy?  Keep reading for a nail biting preview of what's to come:

It was another long moment before she spoke again. She seemed to be gauging everything he did and said, working something out in her head.

“What do you want with me?”

That was the question of the century. He had no idea what to tell her that wouldn’t scare the shit out of her. He wanted….

To lay you out on my bed.

“I want to help you,” he said. At least that was the truth, even if by far it wasn’t the whole truth.

Evie’s honey-colored gaze narrowed. She didn’t believe him. It had been a very long time since someone had not believed him. Though he couldn't blame her – he didn’t believe him either.

“You want to help me.” She straightened a little, still visibly trembling but somehow regaining her wits.

Roman knew she didn’t understand. How could she when he didn’t understand himself? He showed her his open hands in a gesture of well-meaning and said, “I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you. It’s why I was able to save you, Evie.” He took another step forward, unable to help himself. The distance between them was just too far and it was driving him a little nuts. “I was there when danger struck because I couldn’t stand to be far from your side.” He paused when a look of panic floated across Evie’s beautiful face. “I think it has something to do with what you are,” he said softly.

Evie took a step back and Roman’s heart sank. “And what exactly would that be?” she asked, her tone still clearly frightened, despite her obvious strength of character. “Human?”

Roman waited a moment. And then he shook his head. “I don’t believe you really are, Evie.” He paused. “Human.”

~~~~ If you liked that, your gonna LOVE the rest of  "The Vampire King: book one of The Kings".

You can find out more about Heather's current and upcoming releases on her website : http://www.killough-walden/com

I also encourage you to find Heather on Facebook.  She is extremely loyal to her fans and always answers your questions as well as enjoys your praise. https://www.facebook.com/killoughwalden

Book 1 in "The Kings" series will be available February 7th.  Pre-order is available for both Nook and Kindle.

  

Heather is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of the Big Bad Wolf series. Check out all of Heather's novels, including the upcoming Lost Angels series, at Amazon and on Barnes and Noble Nook

Beautiful Sins book 1: Leigha Lowery by Jennifer Hampton

This book was great.  I grabbed it up cause it was only a dollar and had a few books to the series, which is always nice not having to wait months or even years for another volume to answer questions you had in the first volume.  The book had a lot of editing issues and the grammar lacked in certain areas, but to the credit of the author, she acknowledged that in the very beginning before you even started reading.  A new author without the finances to hire a professional editor, she did it herself, and while a few things skipped by her, all the same the story was well written and you knew what she meant to say.  Little things like "oops" being spelled "opps"  but no biggie.  So lets get to the actual story shall we?

The beginning of this book was slightly confusing.  There is a war and the entire west coast is shrouded in darkness.  Absolutely no sunlight. The US is split in two with the western half ruled by a King and the eastern half still trying to be American with a president running the country.  Russia is said to be joining the west side (ha ha) and together the King and Russia plan on overtaking the rest of the country and the King will rule the US alone.  Enter 16 year old Leigha Lowery.

Leigha is a Detroit native, still considered America and having a president.  That all changes when Leigha's mother decided to marry her Internet boyfriend, one that is from Oregon, lost in the darkness of the west.  Upset that she has to move to "another country" during her sophomore year, Leigha is very difficult and irrational.  (As an army brat I understand her pain)  Once they get to their new house, Leigha discovers her lifestyle went from pauper to princess. With her new step dad being the personal physician of the King himself, Leigha is immediately considered a member of the court.  But of course, things aren't always what they seem and Leigha soon discovers shocking secrets about her new town and the people she calls friends.  There are lots of secrets and you can't help but read the book till the end, hoping to find answers.  The ending of this book was a little abrupt, I wish the author would have continued a little further to answer a MAJOR question, but in Book 2 (which I'm not done with yet and actually can't review for a little while or it will ruin the ending of book 1) you get your answer, though you have to push past a few chapters to get to the good stuff.

All in all, this is really good.  I scooped up the 4 books that are in this series so far (I haven't gotten through number 2 yet, so I can't tell you if 4 is the end, or if its open for another one) I really like them.  I recommend this to those who enjoy books about witches, werewolves, vampires and fairy tales.

Never to sleep: a Soul Screamers novella by Rachel Vincent

I'm not usually one to put up reviews about novella's but I have to share this with you cause I just loved it.  This novella is about 56 pages or so long on the nook.  Picking up in the middle of "If I Die" (book 5 in the soul screamers series) this novella is from Sophie's perspective.

As the cousin of super freak Kaylee Cavanaugh, Sophie tries her damned hardest to distance herself from her cousin and anyone associated with her, and as a potential candidate for Captain of her high school dance team, Sophie is going to do anything to win. After gathering the new dance uniforms from her coach's office, Sophie runs smack into a very cute boy she's never seen before.  Acting like the captain she is, Sophie takes it upon herself to escort the new boy around school. Nothing prepares her for whats about to happened after she sees Kaylee kissing a guy that is NOT her boyfriend in the hallway at school and drawing a huge crowd of onlookers.  Could she be more embarrassing?   Grabbing the new kid and turning down the other hallway she sees someone just appear out of nowhere and when he looks at her all she can do is scream.  Unknown to Sophie (and everyone else in her family) Sophie transports herself and the new guy to the Netherlands where they both have to admit the reality of the situation and work together to get back home.  During this entire thing Sophie begins to question her cousin's sanity and thinks that maybe Kaylee isn't crazy after all.

A great turn of events for Sophie, I am very excited to say that Rachel Vincent is in the process of writing a SIXTH book in the Soul Screamers series (there were only supposed to be 5).  I cannot wait to see the turn of events now that Sophie has experienced the Netherlands and I am highly anticipating the future of Kaylee and Tod (if you haven't figured it out, I think the guy Sophie saw in the hall that made her scream was Tod).  Look for "Before I Wake" book 6 in the soul screamers series by Rachel Vincent due out June 26, 2012

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The 4th and final book in the Iron Fey series, The Iron Knight was
great way to finish a very addicting story.

After The Iron Queen ended with Prince Ash being cast out of the Iron realm for his own good, he recruits the mischief making Robin Goodfellow (Puck) to join him in a quest for mortality so that he may once again be with his heart, Meghan Chase, the Iron Queen.  Through this journey, you are re-acquainted with characters from previous books as well as the Iron Fey novella "Winters passage".

A cryptic talking cat (Grim) a blast from the past and an unlikely ally, Prince Ash and Puck set out on their quest through treacherous valleys and deadly foes.  This final book ended in a wonderful fashion and though I was sad to see it come to an end, I was very happy with the ending.  I highly recommend this entire series, you won't be sorry.

Drake of Tanith by Heather Killough Walden

Egad, Gasp and Woo Hoo all at the same time.


Following in my favorite and traditional HKW fashion, this book BLEW ME AWAY.  I know, I know, I might be biased cause I just really enjoy this author and nothing I've read with her name on it has ever been anything but amazing, but what can I say, if its amazing, then well, its amazing.

Drake of Tanith picks up a month after The Chosen Soul ended (in book time of course).  Raven is a "guest" in the kingdom of the elf prince.  Drake of Tanith is still trapped in another dimension and Loki is going crazy trying to reach his sister.  Everything in this book is fast paced and detailed.  A long time ago Drake left his birthright behind in order to escape the life he was born to lead.  Son of the most powerful Devil, Drake has his work cut out for him when his father, the King of Nisse rescues him from his dimension of hell and sent back into the realm he left.  With an ultimatum at his feet, Drake rushes to find Raven and determine how much of his destiny he wants to follow.  Torn between his loyalty to Raven and his heart, Drake must make a decision, let her go, or doom her forever.

Keegan's chronicles by Julia Crane

So its been awhile since I've added a recommendation.  I've got plenty to recommend, don't get me wrong, just haven't done it so here I go, giving you some eye candy :)

Keegan's chronicles is a really fun twist in the world of elves.  Usually I read about faeries, witches, vampires, and pretty much anything that is sci-fi/fantasy related.  This series was really no different.

First off Keegan is an elf.  And in this elf world, elf's are "chosen" for each other at birth.  Keegan is Rourk's chosen.  Your not supposed to meet your chosen or even know their name till your 18th birthday, but Keegan has a special little brother with the gift of being a seer. (you'll have to read about Thaddeus in his own little Novella not included in this trilogy) Thad has a vision of Keegan's death in an ongoing war between the light and dark elves and fears for her, so he tells her the name of her Chosen (he's psychic so of course he knows the guys name) in hopes that if she is ever in danger she can call out to Rourk and he will hear her call and save her.  This ends up working out in both ways good and bad.  She is constantly thinking of Rourk, wondering what he looks like, what he smells like, what his smile is like, everything.  The more she thinks of him, the more he hears her which in turn drives him to meet her prematurely.  Once Keegan's parents are aware of Thaddeus's intention and why, they allow Keegan and Rourk to meet early (she is 16) and they spend the weekend hiking with her parents and getting to know each other.  Then the war comes and both Keegan and Rourk are whisked away to Ireland (home of the elf apparently) where Rourk begins battle and Keegan provides medical help to the wounded.  Without giving to much away, Thad's vision comes to pass and the bond is broken between Rourk and Keegan and you have to read book 2 to see what happens next :)

In Book 2 the bond is still broken, Keegan has started dating Donald, her schoolmate/tiger shifting childhood friend and Rourk has joined the human army to give Keegan space to recover and hopefully get the bond back, now this book is full of info so I can't go into it to deep or you'll have spoilers out the nose.  Let's just say that Thaddeus and Keegan's witch friend Anna are working hard on getting the bond back between Keegan and Rourk.  We learn alot about Anna and her family history and Rourk makes a human friend and concentrates on keeping him alive to keep the pain of losing Keegan at bay.

This is where I leave you as far as the review for this trilogy.  I know I only left you with 2 books, but I can't give you a detail about book 3 without ruining the whole series, so all I can say is its a great series, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the ending.  Let me know what you think