4 STARS | The Asgardians by S.T. Bende

Title: Supernatural Chronicles: The Asgardians
Series: Dynamis in New Orleans #9
Author: S.T. Bende
Age Group: New Adult
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mythology
Elements: Deities
Publisher: S.T. Bende
Format: Electronic ARC
ASIN: B015PHS0WC
Published: December 21st, 2015
Source: S.T. Bende
Rating: ★★★★

Inga Andersson just can’t catch a break. She’s supposed to be enjoying a ski week in beautiful Åre, Sweden, with her immortal-assassin husband. Instead, she and Gunnar are trapped inside a bizarre scavenger hunt, unraveling an incomprehensible riddle at the bequest of a mysterious being known only as The One. And if Inga and Gunnar don’t decipher the puzzle and deliver a mythological relic to a New Orleans graveyard within three days, they’ll be ejected from the Norse pantheon, stripped of their immortality, and cast as the solitary line of defense against the onslaught of frost giants and Helbeasts ready to bring about Midgard’s fall. What started as a party game has become a lethal challenge with irreparable consequences, not only for Inga, but for the god she loves . . . and the realm she adores.

Let the hunt begin.

The Asgardians is a standalone crossover novella set within both the Elsker and Ære Universe. It features The Elsker Saga’s Gunnar & Inga, AND The Ære Saga’s Henrik & Brynn!

Inga and Gunnar are enjoying a ski week vacation with Henrik and Brynn in Åre, Sweden, when their fun is interrupted by a message from the Norns. An unprecedented amount of dark energy has begun to surround Midgard and the Bifrost has been closed indefinitely. With the Bifrost closed, and their return to Asgard impossible, they will become mortal without Idunn's apples. To save Midgard and open the Bifrost, the Norns are sending these four Asgardian warriors on a scavenger hunt for an item that will prevent the darkness from taking over Midgard. They must find this item and take it to New Orleans, if they fail the Bifrost will be closed forever and Midgard will fall into darkness.

Supernatural Chronicles: The Asgardians is Book 9 in the serial series Dynamis in New Orleans. Each book has a supernatural race searching for an item that they need to deliver to New Orleans in order to save themselves and the world. The Asgardians takes characters Inga and Gunnar from S.T. Bende's Elsker Saga and Henrik and Brynn from her Ære Saga. Aside from the scavenger hunt part of the story, I also liked how Inga's past was incorporated into this story. Someone she loved dearly was killed and she wants revenge. I liked how well this second part of the story was interwoven into the main Dynamis story. It really brings all the stories together nicely.

I like the concept of all the stories in the Dynamis in New Orleans serial series and it was exciting getting another story in S.T. Bende's Norse worlds. Although you don't need to, I wish that I had read the previous 8 books in the Dynamis Serial to get the whole story. While this is a great addition to the Elsker and Ære Sagas, I really do think that it would be best to read the other Supernatural Chronicles if you want to understand the entire Dynamis story. I think this might have been why I wasn't able to give The Asgardians a five star rating. I felt like I was missing parts of the whole.

I absolutely loved seeing the two most outgoing and fun-loving couples in the Elsker and Ære Sagas in one book. Well, kind of a couple in Brynn and Henrik's case. In their respective series, these characters lighten the otherwise seriousness of the story. Because of this, The Asgardians was a more light and fun story than the others in the Elsker and Ære Sagas. I especially liked how during the fight scenes, while there's a serious reason for them fighting, they are able to have fun while doing it. Basically what I'm saying is that because of these characters personalities, this book was a fun and entertaining experience, even with the seriousness of the reason behind the events that happen.

S.T. Bende has a beautiful way of writing a story. Everything flows together so perfectly and that really allows the world to come to life and the characters personalities to shine. The only thing about this book that I think could have been changed is making Chapter 1 a prologue. Because the events in Chapter 1 happen six years before the events in Chapter 2, it felt more like an introductory prologue than the first chapter of a book. Otherwise, I really found no other problems with The Asgardians. It was a fun read and a great addition to S.T. Bende's Norse worlds.

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Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, S.T. Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of McVities cookies. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the books of The Elsker Saga and The Ære Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile, and she dreams of skiing on Jotunheim and Hoth.

Find S.T. on Twitter @stbende, her website (www.stbende.com), or send her an e-mail. While you're at it, introduce yourself to @UllMyhr and @TyrFredriksen—when they’re not saving the cosmos from dark elves, they love meeting new friends . . . especially the human kind.

Want to connect with fellow Norse god fans? S.T.'s readers have created a Facebook group! Head over to the RagnaRockstars page to chat with other readers, talk with S.T., and get access to exclusive content . . . including Ull POVs and sneak peeks at upcoming Ære Saga books!

TUR is currently available for FREE to newsletter subscribers!

Skål, y’all!


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2015 to my book blog, Once Untold.

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5 STARS | Perfekt Order by S.T. Bende

Title: Perfekt Order
Series: The Ære Saga #1
Author: S.T. Bende
Age Group: New Adult
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Mythology, Urban Fantasy
Elements: Deities
Publisher: S.T. Bende
Format: Electronic ARC
ASIN: B015TXBV9G
Published: December 8th, 2015
Source: S.T. Bende
Rating: ★★★★★

All's fair when you're in love with War.

For seventeen-year-old Mia Ahlström, a world ruled by order is the only world she allows. A lifetime of chore charts, to-do lists and study schedules have helped earn her a spot in Redwood State University’s engineering program. And while her five-year plan includes finding her very own happily-evah-aftah, years at an all girls’ boarding school left her woefully unprepared for keg parties and co-ed extracurricular activities.

So nothing surprises her more than catching the eye of Tyr Fredriksen at her first college party. The imposing Swede is arrogantly charming, stubbornly overprotective, and runs hot-and-cold in ways that defy reason . . . until Mia learns that she’s fallen for the Norse God of War; an immortal battle deity hiding on Midgard (Earth) to protect a valuable Asgardian treasure from a feral enemy. With a price on his head, Tyr brings more than a little excitement to Mia’s rigidly controlled life. Choosing Tyr may be the biggest distraction—or the greatest adventure—she’s ever had.

Perfekt Order brings us the story of seventeen year old Mia Ahlström as she moves to Arcata, California to attend Redwood State University. During a run her first day, Mia is attacked by a large wolf-like monster and is saved by Tyr Fredriksen. From that moment, Mia's life is forever changed. Turns out that Tyr is the Norse God of War and dark forces are out to bring him down and they have no problem using Mia to achieve their goal. Mia's life of perfekt order is about to be shaken to its core. When you're in love with the God of War, order is the last thing you need to worry about.

I've been a fan of this world since reading the Elsker Saga and I really enjoyed this new adventure with a new Norse Crew in the Ære Saga. I'm pretty sure that Perfekt Order takes place slightly before the events in the Elsker Saga - I'm still a bit confused on the timeline - and it's a lot more battle-heavy than the previous series, which only makes sense since our main male character is the Norse God of War. Basically, in Perfekt Order, Mia finds herself in the middle of a war between the Ære Crew and Fenrir, who is working with someone determined to bring down the God of War. So there's this constant battle-readiness throughout the story and they are always on alert for the next attack. But even with all this action, S.T. Bende was able to seamlessly weave a beautiful romance between Mia and Tyr and some pretty great humor into the story. Each element is perfektly balanced and I didn't feel like one element overpowered the others. This story just drew me in. I'm so invested in this story and the characters in it, that I'm going nuts without the next book. Especially after the sneak peek of the second book at that end of the book. February seems so far away!

I was in love with Ære Crew from the very beginning. Mia is a very strong character and extremely stubborn. She is a very organized and analytical person. Anything illogical doesn't belong in her world. But then Tyr enters her life and her perfektly ordered life becomes chaotic. Mia and Tyr are very much alike, and being the God of War has made him extremely protective of those he loves, especially since he's lost a lot of this loved ones to his enemies. Mia's stubbornness and Tyr's protectiveness clash a lot in this book. These were the times when Mia kind of annoyed me. Any other time I loved Mia so much, but it seemed that whenever Tyr tried to protect her from Fenrir, she wanted to put herself right out there in danger. A human cannot win in a battle with the monsters of Asgard's underworlds. But aside from the arguments they had about her safety, Mia and Tyr compliment each other perfektly. I'm looking forward to seeing glimpses of them in the next books and seeing how they progress in their relationship with all the chaos happening around them.

Not only does Perfekt Order have great main characters, but the rest of Ære Crew and Mia's roommates are equally awesome. This book just has such an amazing cast of characters. I absolutely loved Brynn and Henrik, who are Tyr's friends and bodyguards. Brynn ends up being one of Mia's roommates and Henrik also happens to be Gunnar's older brother. If you've read the Elsker Saga, Gunnar is Ull's best friend. Brynn's energy is through the roof and her obvious feelings for Henrik make her a target for quite a bit of teasing between her roommates. Henrik is an engineering genius, which gains him a lot of respect from Mia. And there are just so many other great characters, such as Freya, Forse, Elsa, and Mia's roommates Heather and Charlotte. The characters in this book are so uniquely themselves and I just couldn't help loving them all.

Finally, this book is so beautifully written. I loved how descriptive S.T. Bende was with the scenery, the characters, and basically everything in the world of this book. The suspense has a really great build-up each time a battle happens and that first scene when Mia was attacked had me on the edge of my seat. There's also some really great humor in this book, which I think was really needed with how serious the story could become at times. I loved how the title, and even just the word perfekt, was used throughout the story. Like I mentioned before, every element in this book is really well balanced and I really liked that there wasn't too much of one thing. I think I can sum up what I thought and felt for this book in one word: PERFEKTION!

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Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, S.T. Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of McVities cookies. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the books of The Elsker Saga and The Ære Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile, and she dreams of skiing on Jotunheim and Hoth.

Find S.T. on Twitter @stbende, her website (www.stbende.com), or send her an e-mail. While you're at it, introduce yourself to @UllMyhr and @TyrFredriksen—when they’re not saving the cosmos from dark elves, they love meeting new friends . . . especially the human kind.

Want to connect with fellow Norse god fans? S.T.'s readers have created a Facebook group! Head over to the RagnaRockstars page to chat with other readers, talk with S.T., and get access to exclusive content . . . including Ull POVs and sneak peeks at upcoming Ære Saga books!

TUR is currently available for FREE to newsletter subscribers!

Skål, y’all!


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2015 to my book blog, Once Untold.

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5 STARS | Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Stone Cold Touch
Series: The Dark Elements #2
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0373211340
Published: October 21st, 2014
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5 STARS
Series Reviews: White Hot Kiss
Purchase: Amazon

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

Cover Review:

The cover of Stone Cold Touch is just like the White Hot Kiss cover, but this time it features Layla and Zayne. I really like the shade of green they used, because it looks like it could be the color of the Wardens in their Gargoyle form.

Because of Layla's inability to kiss anyone with a soul, Zayne got in the habit of touching his forehead to hers and that's what it looks like on this cover. This cover shows the dynamic between Layla and Zayne, they want to be close, but they can't without Zayne dying, so they get as close as possible without too much touching. We see this in the way that Layla has her head turned and her mouth away from his.

I mentioned small things on covers in my review for White Hot Kiss and forgot to mention that it also shows Layla wearing her necklace, so both covers show that. On the back, her necklace is shown with the tagline, "Every Touch Has It's Price." That is a very important statement to this book, because her touch really does have a price and it's a high one.

Book Review:

In Stone Cold Touch, Layla is still stuggling with the aftermath of her battle with Paimon and losing Roth. She's heartbroken and worried that Roth is suffering, all the while her powers seems to be changing. Her Warden family doesn't trust her at all anymore, especially with all the strange things happening around her and they blame her for it. To the Wardens, she feels more like a Upper Level demon and nothing like a Warden. When Roth returns out of the blue, Layla is confused but relieved and happy to see him. But Roth isn't there for her and brings news that a Lilin had been born.

So as you can see, nothing is going right in Layla's life right now. Her powers are changing, she is changing, and the Wardens hate and distrust her for it. The only brightness in the Warden compound is Zayne. And let me tell you, with Roth out of the picture, Zayne has upped his game. While Layla still has her crush on Zayne, she's still hung up on Roth. I have to say that I was really upset with him when he returned. She was sho happy and relieve to see him, but he just brushed her and their time together and a fling. What a jerk! But with each interaction between her anad Roth, you could tell that he was hiding something from her. This was the perfect time for Zayne to make his move. And for a while they were happy. I really don't think that any chances should have been made when it came to Layla's soul-stealing kiss. And there was definitely a price paid for taking that dangerous chance.

A lot of people changed teams after the way that Roth treated Layla, but I could tell that there was more going on. I like Zayne and the scenes between him and Layla were pretty steamy, but it still felt like they were more friends than anything else. And even when Layla was kinda with Zayne, the tension was still there between her and Roth. There were moments when you could tell what he was really feeling and that he still cared for Layla, but we don't know until later why he treated her so bad.

So I was very upset with Roth but I still felt like he was better for Layla. I do think that he more than made up for it toward the end of the book. He really melted my heart when he took care of and protected Layla. And I can't forget when he said, "I love you, Layla. Do you hear me? I've loved you since the first moment I heard your voice and I will continue to love you. No matter what. I love you." That line added with the situation in which he said it was the best. I swooned and I hoped like anything that Layla would return his feelings, but we are left hanging on that end.

Where White Hot Kiss seemed to focus on Layla and her demon half, including who her mother is and her powers and learning more about demons. Whereas Stone Cold Touch seems to focus on Layla and her Warden half, or at least her life with the Wardens. A lot of changes happen in this book, and Layla has to grow up fast. There is life-threatening danger to her even in her own home. Layla feels a lot of pressure and feels like everyone is against her. In the first book, it felt like the animosity was just against her demon half, but this book gives that feeling of her being attacked on a whole. There was a moment toward the end of this book that really made me feel terrified for Layla. I really didn't know how she was going to survive that terrible situation.

I was completely shocked by what happened at the end. I wasn't expecting the Lilin to be who it was revealed to be. It kind of mad me a little sad. This cliffhanger is going to start the next and final book, Every Last Breath, off on a bang. It's going to be awesome!

Rating:

I gave Stone Cold Touch a 5 STAR rating. This book was at times shocking, frightening, and insanely romantic. After that crazy cliffhanger, I'm am dying for the next book. Every Last Kiss is going to be beyond EPIC. The wait always sucks, but it also brings the excitement even higher.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2015 to my book blog, Once Untold.

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4 STARS | Eros by Helen Harper

Title: Eros
Series: Olympiana #1

Author: Helen Harper
Age Group: New Adult
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Mythology, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Helen Harper
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B00IF5K1P6
Published: February 12th, 2014
Source: Amazon
Rating: 4/5 STARS

Purchase: Amazon

William Shakespeare once wrote that, “Cupid is a knavish lad, thus to make poor females mad.” The trouble is that Cupid himself would probably agree…

As probably the last person in the world who’d appreciate hearts, flowers and romance, Coop is convinced that true love doesn’t exist – which is rather unfortunate considering he’s also known as Cupid, the God of Love. He’d rather spend his days drinking, womanising and generally having as much fun as he possible can. As far as he’s concerned, shooting people with bolts of pure love is a waste of his time…but then his path crosses with that of shy and retiring Skye Sawyer and nothing will ever be quite the same again.

A sexy romance fantasy, Eros is a seductive re-telling of the classic Greek myth, Cupid and Psyche.

Eros is a modern re-telling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. Cupid, or Coop as he prefers to be called, has become disillusioned with love and believes that true love doesn't exist if he has to make it happen. Skye unknowingly ends up in the middle of a fight between Coop and Apollo, and suddenly she's thrown into a world of epic proportions and finds true love in the most unexpected way. But Aphrodite won't let just anyone have her son's heart. Only someone she deems worthy will Aphrodite allow to be with Coop, so she puts Skye to the test.

I love reading re-tellings of my favorite tales and the Greek myths are among some of my most favorites. So when I started reading Eros I was really looking forward to seeing how Helen Harper would tell her version of the Cupid and Psyche tale. While I think that there are a few things that could be tweaked here and there, such as the pacing of the story and making sure it's edited a little better, the story at it's heart really drew me in. I thought that it would take me a while to read the book considering it's over 300 pages, but I really flew through it. My favorite part of the story has to be when Skye is given the 4 tasks by Aphrodite to prove that she's worthy of being with Coop. That is the point when the story really felt real - it was the all or nothing point.

Skye was a character that I could really relate to personality wise. She's shy and has trouble reaching out to new people, but once she's comfortable with someone Skye is an outspoken and assertive person. Coop, the god of Love, is apathetic to love and just doesn't believe in it anymore, much to his mother's chagrin. I liked how Coop had this kind of mischievous, playful side to him - that was a different characteristic from other re-tellings I've read. One character, besides the two main characters, that I really liked was Coop's best friend Hermes. That poor dude was caught in the middle of all the drama. It's amazing that he remains sane.

One bigger thing that I didn't really like was the progression of Coop's love for Skye. I can understand Skye realizing her feelings for Coop after he saves her, but I didn't like how it seemed like Coop didn't come to love Skye until after they had sex. I know that the exact time he fell in love with her is explained later in the book, but the way it was written up to that point made it look like he didn't love her until after he had sex with her. So maybe that could have been changed a little, maybe with a bit more emotion added between the points of saving Skye and them having sex. 

But other than that, I think that Eros is a great read for anyone who loves story retellings and/or the Greek myths.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Helen Harper is an English teacher currently living abroad in Malaysia. As a long time reader of urban fantasy, she finally bit the bullet and began to develop her own series of novels.

Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland. "I always loved the escapism provided by those genres," states Helen. "No matter how bad life gets, you can always find a route out, even if only temporarily, in the pages of a good book."

The growth of urban fantasy fascinated her - the mix of reality and fantasy along with strong heroic female characters appealed from the very beginning, and inspired her to write her own.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2015 to my book blog, Once Untold.

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5 STARS | White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: White Hot Kiss
Series: The Dark Elements #1
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback, Kindle Edition
ISBN-13: 978-0373211104
Published: February 25th, 2014
Source: Library | NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 STARS
Purchase: Amazon

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

Cover Review:

What I like about the cover to White Hot Kiss is that it really symbolizes not only parts of the story but also the title. The red and white coloring symbolize the title of the book. The near-kiss really shows the tension that's between Layla and Roth in this book, which I'll talk about more later in this review. One thing I really love about covers is when they show what could be considered small details of a character, such as tattoos. On this cover, Roth's snake tattoo is shown, which also happens to be his demon familiar, Bambi. Bambi, in tattoo form, is one of the most notable characteristics of Roth, so I really liked that they showed her on the cover as well. She also happens to be a character that I really liked, which was unexpected. Then there are the details on the back cover. The ring on the necklace is the one that Layla owns and plays a key role in the story. The tagline, "One Kiss Could Be The Last," describes something that Layla has to deal with on a daily basis - her inability to kiss anyone with a soul. So I really love how this cover alone gives you a pretty good idea about the story. There's really nothing that I don't like about it.

Book Review:

So we have Demons and Wardens fighting it out. Your classic good versus evil, heaven versus hell scenario. It felt like this book is where we learn the most about the demons. Their different classes and hierarchy, their powers and abilities. It felt like less was given about the Wardens. There's even some animosity of a group of humans against the Wardens. There is a group called the Church of God's Children who see the Wardens as unholy and try to discredit them at every chance.

Layla is in the middle of all three of these groups. She's half demon, half Warden, but she's also very human as well.  Because of her dual nature, she's not completely accepted by either side. The Wardens have made it so that she hates her demon half, but because she can't shift or do anything very Warden-like, she's left on the sidelines. The only thing she's allowed to do is tag demons for the Wardens to dispatch back to hell later at night. Layla has a very low sense of self. She doesn't see herself fitting in anywhere. The demons ignore her, the Wardens are wary of her, and the humans are completely ignorant to what she really is.

The thing about Layla is that she's more unique than anyone knows, and that uniqueness is what has put her in the crosshairs of a powerful demon, bent on releasing Lilith and raising the Lilin. If that were to happen, Armaggedon would begin, and no one wants that to happen. Not the demons, not the Alphas, and definitely not the humans. So that's where Roth comes in. He was sent from hell to find who is after her and stop them.

We learn a lot about Layla's origins in this book. Who her mother and father are, the true meaning of her existence, as well as some of her abilities. One ability that puts a damper on any kind of love life is the fact that her kiss is lethal to anyone with a soul. So her crush on Zayne, her childhood best friend, has to stay just that. But with Roth's arrival, the fact that he has no soul is a temptation that's hard for Layla to resist.

Zayne + Layla + Roth = a love triangle. Zayne knows Layla probably better than anyone, but Roth can understand a side of her that Zayne can't. The thing about love triangles, especially one like this where it's the girl caught between her best friend and the hot new guy, is that it's almost always the hot new guy that is chosen. So these kind of love triangles I really don't like very much. The fact that Layla can get close to Roth and actually kiss him, gives Roth a huge advantage over Zayne in this book. I can say that I am 100% #TeamRoth. The best friend, meaning Zayne, needs to stay in the friend-zone. I just didn't feel it between him and Layla. Whereas with Roth you could feel the tension between him and Layla. It just builds and builds until they can't hold back anymore. Their relationship and interactions literally gave me tingles.

Being so invested it Roth and Layla, the ending to this book was extremely bittersweet. When Roth told Layla "I lost myself the moment I found you" it broke my heart. It's a testiment to JLA's writing that those 8 words could be so powerful and full of so much emotion. The Bonus Content at the end of the book (which is only available in the print version) is the Devil's Advocate Scene from Roth's point of view, and it really shows you the reason he chose to do what he did at the end. Which also makes the ending sequence and the aftermath even more bittersweet and heartbreaking. I was this close to ugly crying. This close.

Rating:

I gave White Hot Kiss a 5 STAR rating. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved the romance. I just loved the whole freaking thing. LOVED IT. I wish I didn't have to return it to the library. I want to keep it.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2015 to my book blog, Once Untold.

Continue Reading →