It's Monday! What Are You Reading #47, April 30th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #46
Teaser Tuesday #55
WWW Wednesday #55
WOW #51
Will the Time Come #47
Third Sentence Thursday #38
Random Reads #22
First Lines Friday #43
Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update 44
A-Z Book Challenge Update 17
The Reward Challenge Round 40
Follow Friday #25
2012 Dystopian Reading Challenge Update 17
YA Historical Fiction Update 12
Last Letter First Letter Reading Challenge Update 5
In My Mailbox #46
I Have An Update #45

Week 17 Reviews:
Bloodrose
The Nightmare Garden
Waterfall
Cascade
Torrent
Pants on Fire
Bite Me
Try Me
Fang Me
Make Me
Monument 14
The Savage Grace
Claiming the Highlander
The Warrior
Angel Eyes
Lord of the Wolves
That Fatal Night
A Temptation of Angels

Tours:
Titanic 2012
 
OK, so I got 29 posts in 7 days, and I read some really great books, and I can't wait for next week!
 
So this week I want to read Honor Bound, Erebos, Monstrous Beauty, Seraphina, Run from Fear, The Peculiars, and Shadow and Bone. I know, not that much, but I'm going to try just telling myself that I want to read 1 ebook a day! It makes making this post way shorter!
 
Currently Listening To: She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
Currently Reading: Run from Fear by Jami Alden
Currently Watching: My Shows!

 To some men honor is just a word...

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent—and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything...

Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her—or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.

 Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

 With each step she takes, he tracks her every move, waiting for the perfect time. The perfect revenge. Until then, he'll watch her . . .

RUN FROM FEAR

More than anything, Talia Vega wanted to leave behind her harrowing past. Moving eight hundred miles away, she succeeded . . . until the one man who knows her darkest secrets wanders into the restaurant where she works. Now the agonizing memories come crashing back-along with an undeniable desire for Jack Brooks, the ex-Green Beret who rescued her from a sadistic monster two years ago.

Jack Brooks knows that showing up unannounced is a purely selfish move. Talia doesn't need his protection anymore, but he can't get the raven-haired beauty out of his mind. And when a twisted madman is hell-bent on resurrecting her torturous past, Jack vows to do anything to keep her safe-even risk his own life to save the only woman he's ever loved.

 This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance. On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

In My Mailbox #46, April 29th-April Week 4

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to talk about the books we got in the mailbox or inbox as the case may be!

So I got:

For Review:
Where the Heart Falls

Library:
The Catastrophic History of You and Me
Slide
Flip
Angel Fire
The Sharp Time
Stork

NetGalley:
Velveteen
Yesterday
Flutter
Unspoken
Bad Hair Day
The Opposite of Hallelujah
The Little Woods
Kissing Shakespeare
Shadowfell 
Touched
The Master of Verona
Her Majesty's Will

Oh, got some awesome books, can't wait to read Slide or Velveteen! Whatcha get? Happy reading!!

I Have an Update #45! April 29th

New Titles: 0.

New Plots: 0.

Monthly Word Count: None, Why am I still doing this?

Week 17 Review: A Temptation of Angels

From Goodreads:
Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.

My Review:
Oh, this was a really fantastic book! And I'd really love a sequel! Because I really loved these characters, this world, and everything about this book! It was just so fantastic! And so readable! And loveable!

So Helen is introduced to this world quite rudely-through the deaths of her parents, and her run from danger. And while she's been trained on how to be a part of this world, she didn't know that. But she does have those skills, as she learns more about this world!

This was really addicting! The pages were just not flying by fast enough for me, my eyes were absorbing and passing over translation over to my brain, fast enough, and yeah, when it ended, I was sad, because I wanted more!

And I still want more, this was a great book in a great world, and I really want more!

Author: Michelle Zink
Read: April 27th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: I loved her Prophecy of the Sisters series, and it's a YAHFC book, and a LLFL book!
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Published: March 20th 2012

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 17 Review: That Fatal Night

From Goodreads:
In the aftermath of the Titanic disaster, a young girl must come to terms with haunting memories from the voyage. 

It is May 1912, one month after the horrific sinking of the Titanic, and twelve-year-old survivor Dorothy Wilton is sent home from school in disgrace when she strikes another student. Although she's expelled, her sympathetic teacher encourages Dorothy to write an account of her experience on the ship, with the hopes that it will help Dorothy come to terms with her trauma.

And so begins a truly remarkable story, which reads like a time capsule of the era: Dorothy writes about visiting her bohemian grandparents in England before setting sail back home, the luxurious rooms and cabins on board, a new friend she makes, and the intriguing people they observe. However, amidst all of this storytelling, a shadow lurks, a secret Dorothy is too traumatized to acknowledge - a secret about her own actions on that fatal night, which may have had deadly consequences.

My Review:
This was a fantastic book. I love this series, of diaries of young girls who've lived-or live through-some pretty significant Canadian history, history that sometimes is the world's history, as is the case in this book, because the Titanic is something we've all heard!

I feel bad, because while I really enjoyed this book, I've outgrown this series. I mean, it was bound to happen, I can remember reading some of the early books, and getting them out of my elementary school library. So this series has been with me for almost a decade.

The actual sinking, in this book, isn't really a big part of this book. She's on the ship, she's woken up, she's taken to a lifeboat, and then she's on a ship from N.Y. to rescue the survivors. So yeah, not the biggest thing. It's more her guilt that is a big part of this book.

I enjoyed this a lot, it's a really great book-it's just for younger readers!

Author: Sarah Ellis
Series: Dear Canada
Read: April 27th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: I like the Dear Canada books, of various points in history, and it's a YAHFC book!
Published: September 1st 2011

4/5 Hearts

3/5 Books

3/5 Stars

Week 17 Review: Lord of the Wolves

From Goodreads:
She was the heroine of her people….
With her extraordinary violet eyes, French Countess Melisande was a prize for any man. But the teenage hellion who rode into battle to defend her people belonged to the warrior who saved her life, made her his bride, then disappeared for years. Now Conar MacAuliffe had returned to claim his wife, now a ravishing woman determined to fight for her freedom at all costs. But the proud beauty who feared no man suddenly feared herself and the passionate embrace of the husband who vowed to never let her go.

He was the mighty viking conqueror they called…
Lord of the Wolves, a legendary warrior whose greatest challenge would come with the woman he was destined to wed. In the fiery Countess Melisande he would find his heaven and hell. Even as he waged war for her heart, he dared not to yield his own. Even as he laid sweet, seductive siege to her body, he tried to shield his soul. It would take a common enemy, a little trust, and a united front to awaken them both to a love that could change their lives forever.

My Review:
Well, I can't seem to read this series in order! I read the 2nd book first, this one, the 3rd, the last. Hopefully I'll read the 1st soon! My head-and my access to this series-is very strange and weird. But that's the way I like it!

So like his brother Eric, I didn't like him at first. And that amount of dislike was more then it was for his brother. But like his brother, he redeemed himself, and I wanted to read about him and Melisande! They were a great couple!

I liked this book, and the struggles that the characters went through, they seemed to be things that were of the age, and were really entertaining at the same time, and led to some really great action, and passion! Great book, great end to the series!

I enjoyed this book a lot, I'm really enjoying this series, and I can't wait to read the first book!

Author: Heather Graham
Series: Viking #3
Read: April 27th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: I liked the second book, it was really good!
Publisher: Dell
Published: September 5th 1993

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 17 Review: Angel Eyes

From Goodreads:
Once you've seen, you can't unsee. Everything changes when you've looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle's a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can't seem to shake.

Jake's the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what's going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

My Review:
OK, so I enjoyed this book a lot! It was really great, and I loved this world, and how the religious aspects and brought into regular life, and how some ideas were played around with so that Brielle can see the realm that angels and demons see. It was really awesome!

The beginning was a bit stiff. And I place that with the fact that Brielle just recently was in a hardship, and is still suffering from that. Because of her friend, who's gone, and what happened to her, well, sad, but it started Brielle on this journey!

So as the story went on, we got more details, from Brielle's past, from other POV's, and from Jake, and how he's connected to all of this! And yeah, when it all came together for the ending, it was really quite an epic ending!

I enjoyed this book a lot, it's a great start to what looks to be a really awesome series! I can't wait for more!

Author: Shannon Dittemore
Series: Angel Eyes Trilogy #1
Read: April 25th-27th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: It sounded really good, and it's a DAC book!
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Ficton
Expected Publication: May 29th 2012

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars

Week 17 Reviews: Claiming the Highlander, The Warrior

From Goodreads:
To end a long-running feud, proud Scottish lass Maggie convinces her clan's women to refuse their men everything. But can she refuse the attractions of English baron and proud Highland warrior Braden McAllister?

From Goodreads:
Combining sensual romance, fast-paced adventure, and a band of unforgettable heroes, "New York Times" bestselling author MacGregor delivers the eagerly anticipated third installment in her high-concept medieval series about the Brotherhood of the Sword.

My Review:
Oh, so good! Loved reading these books, of 2 of the 4 brothers alive, and their stories, and their ladies, they were so funny and they were light, but they had substance, you know? These people have been through some hard things, but they came out on top in the end, and yeah, so good to read about that!

Maggie's plan was audacious, and very smart! I loved it! Though it's too bad that it would take some really significant changes for it to work now! Because for it to happen now, that would just be the most hilarious thing ever!

Loved Lochlan's story, and how yeah, it wraps up the series, and everyone's happy. Well, all the good guys, and everyone still living. Which brings me to Kierian, and yeah, the fact that he's a Dark-Hunter. Though we probably won't be getting his story in that series, which is too bad, because I'd love that!

These were 2 fantastic, amazing, wonderful books, and I just absolutely loved them so much! Can't wait to read more of her books!

Author: Kinley MacGregor (AKA Sherrilyn Kenyon)
Series: Brotherhood/McAllister #2, 8
Read: April 25th, 26th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: Must read all of Sherrilyn Kenyon's writing, and Claiming the Highlander is a Just for Fun book!
Publisher: Avon Books
Published: March 5th 2002, November 27th 2007

Claiming the Highlander:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Warrior:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 17 Review: The Savage Grace

From Goodreads:
A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.

My Review:
This was such a great book! A great ending to the series, one that wrapped up some of the most pressing threads, but left things open, which when I went looking, seemed to be the author's intent, and they're grown up, and will have future adventures, but this series is over. Yeah.

So this book was so action packed, but also emotionally driven! It dealt with the issues and the anger, that's present in the characters, and how it effects them as werewolves, and how the werewolf part effects the anger and those issues. So yeah, that was really great!

Those deaths at the end, they were sad. But in the end, they got what was most important-peace. They were sad, but there are others still living. And those there's that one bad guy to get, well, this seems to be the end of the series, no matter how much I want more!

Loved this book so much, it was just excellent and I enjoyed it a lot!

Author: Bree Despain
Series: The Dark Divine #3
Read: April 23rd-25th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: Loved the first 2 books, and it's a WoW book, and a LLFL book!
Publisher: EgmontUS
Published: March 13th 2012

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 17 Review: Monument 14

From Goodreads:
Your mother hollers that you're going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don't stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don't thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you hurdle down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it's the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you'd stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. 

In Emmy Laybourne's action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

My Review:
This was an utterly perfect novel! I loved reading it, it was unique, and from some details, set a bit in the future-and now, the world might be ending, right there for the characters. And such a collection of characters, too!

So the way the world is ending, is pretty unique. There's a few things going on, from the various natural disasters, and the chemical weapon spill, and what that chemical does to people, that was a bit scary, but it is futuristic!

I loved these characters, and their struggles, and their triumphs, as they barricade themselves in the store, and take care of the little guys, and get along, or don't get alone. So that personal story during the end of the world, was great!

Yeah, this was a really fantastic book, a great debut, and I can't wait for more of this series!

Author: Emmy Laybourn
Series: Monument 14 #1
Read: April 24th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: It sounded amazing, it's a 2012 Dystopian book, and a DAC book!
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Expected Publication: June 5th 2012

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 17 Reviews: Bite Me, Try Me, Fang Me, Make Me

From Goodreads:
Life after high school is tough enough without having to go 15 rounds with your inner demon. Val Shapiro is just your ordinary, part-demon, teenaged vampire hunter with a Texas drawl. And a pet hellhound named Fang. Soon enough she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.

From Goodreads:
This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark city streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire ex-fiance. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel. The second book in Parker Blue's Demon Underground urban fantasy series plunges readers deeper into a heady world of passion, friendship, intrigue and mystery. 

From Goodreads:
The vampires want it. The demons want it, too. And someone is willing to kill Val for it. 

Val and Fang have to find the powerful Encyclopedia Magicka before either of San Antonio's warring underworld factions locate it or the consequences will be deadly for the entire city. As usual, Val's vampire enemies (they still call her The Slayer) want her dead. Even some of her fellow demons may be less than trustworthy, since they'd like to grab the legendary book of spells before she does. Val has a personal claim to the Encyclopedia--her demon father left it to her when he died--but someone stole it recently. And that can't be good.

Battling vamps and dodging demons, Val struggles to unravel the mystery and find the thief. At the same time, she's fighting her attraction to sweet, sexy Shade--her favorite shadow demon. Rumor has it that Val will lose her part-demon, vampire-fighting powers if she gives herself to him.

With a crowd of vamps and demons out to trick her or kill her, it's not a good time for her to risk her job as the city's best vampire hunter by falling in love. The stakes are high and aimed right at her heart. But Lola, Val's hungry little lust demon, doesn't like being denied. Will Lola finally get her way?

What's a part-lust-demon-teen supposed to do? Whatever it takes.

From Goodreads:
Shapiro has a secret she's desperate to keep—she's lost her slayer powers. As the new guardian of the Encyclopedia Magicka, Val expected the books to give her powers to replace those that disappeared after she lost her "V card" to Shade. But the encyclopedia exacts a price for every spell, making the job of guardian a tricky proposition.

When a rogue demon kidnaps Val’s roommate Gwen and Micah, leader of the San Antonio Demon Underground, Val is plunged into the middle of a Solomon's Choice. The rogue wants the dangerously potent Encyclopedia Magicka in exchange for her friends' lives; the succubus leader of the Demon Underground in Austin is demanding the books be destroyed rather than let them fall into the wrong hands and wants Shade for herself, swearing to do everything she can to prevent Val's turning over the books. 

The kidnapping isn't the only crisis Val faces. She's been betrayed by Fang. Demons and vampires are disappearing. The vamps of the New Blood Movement are forcing Val to keep the terms of her agreement to work for them to combat this new threat. 

The Demon Underground is challenging Micah's leadership, and everyone is depending on a now-powerless Val to set things right. Val needs all the help she can get. Even if it means forgiving Fang and spending time with a dangerously sexy cowboy-vampire.

My Review:
This was a fantastic series! I just had to keep reading them! I loved being in this world, I loved Parker Blue's writing, and these characters are just amazing! I loved every word, and since this didn't feel like the end of the series, I want more!

Val was such an awesome character! And so were the others! I loved that she named her succubus side Lola, and then used Lola's strength to fight vampires. And then things get complicated, with each subsequent book! I loved it!

This world, it's got demons and vampires, and magic, and betrayal. And the Encyclopedia Magicka, well, that is a pretty important piece to own! And seeing what it causes, well, yeah, it complicates Val's life, more then it should!

I just loved reading these books, and I can't wait for more, and I want more! So good!

Author: Parker Blue
Series: Demon Underground #1, 2, 3, 4
Read: April 23rd, 23rd, 23rd, 23rd-24th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: They sounded fantastic, and they're 2012 Dystopian novels!
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Published: September 30th 2008, February 19th 2010, January 1st 2011, April 15th 2012

Bite Me:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Try Me:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Fang Me:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Make Me:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars