5 STARS | Bring Me to Ruin by Tess Rider

Title: Bring Me to Ruin
Series: The Haunted Hollow #1
Author: Tess Rider
Age Group: Adult
Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Historical, Erotica, Cyberpunk, Steampunk
Elements: Witches, Fae, Ghosts, Banshees, Undead Things, Time Travel
Publisher: The Life Romantic Press
Format: Electronic ARC
ASIN: B01BEKT6NG
Published: April 12th, 2016
Source: The Killion Group | NetGalley
Events: Review Request
Rating: ★★★★★

“You and he are fated to love. Nothing in this universe can stand between that kind of attraction. It crosses time, space and everything else in between… Love is a force of nature.”

The last thing Thea Maloney expects the day after her first love, Gerard Wyatt, is executed for a crime he didn't commit, is a chance to travel to the 22nd Century to a place called the Haunted Hollow. There time has splintered into hundreds of timelines and a savage ghost war has ravaged the planet. One man stands between what remains of the human race and extinction, a man known only as The General. A man who also happens to be another version of Gerard. Thea’s mission in this haunted place is to solve the riddle of the broken timelines and show the General the power of love before he makes a choice that will doom them all. But how do you convince a man who already thinks you’re the enemy and who’s known only horror his entire life that you’re his soulmate?

Raised in the trenches of the Great Ghost War, the General lives and breathes only one thing. Death. His enclave of ghost hunters and refugees is all that’s left of the human race and he will do anything to reverse humanity’s fate, even if it means rewriting history in a bold gambit to turn back time. What he doesn’t count on is the arrival of Thea Maloney, a woman who makes him feel things he’s never experienced before. He knows he should keep his distance from her, but it gets more difficult with each increasingly sensual encounter. Was she sent to seduce and spy on him, or worse, sabotage the enclave from the inside? Or could she be the one person who can save them all?

What can I say about Bring Me to Ruin? It was an amazing, heart-wrenching time travel story filled with love, hate, war, duty, loss, tragedy, faith, just everything. This book gave me so many feels. It's hard to express what I'm feeling right now. I loved all the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey time travel stuff in Bring Me to Ruin. I loved the romance that crosses time and dimensions. Thea and the General! Those two drove me nuts at times, but their love just melted me heart. The only thing I perhaps didn't like about Bring Me to Ruin was how long it was. It's a very long book, but the mind-blowing story more than makes up for how long it takes to read the book. I was sucked into the story and I'm really wanting the next book, like right now.

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Tess Rider lives with her wonderfully eccentric husband of almost fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s an accountant by day, a novelist by night and an artist at heart 24/7.

Tess holds a B.A. in Art History and did her thesis on Remedios Varo, one of the lesser known female Surrealists, whose deeply personal work brings an exciting dreamworld to vivid life. Tess has long been interested in the impact of dreams, myths and the transcendental on the creative process. Later in life, while spending a year living in New Orleans, Tess had the opportunity to explore the religions of the Caribbean and found in their pantheons and histories inspiration for her writing and art.

Today, Tess is an active member of the San Francisco Area chapter of the RWA and is working hard on the next books in the Haunted Hollow series.

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4 STARS | The Emblazoned Red by Dawn McCullough White

Title: The Emblazoned Red
Series: Trilogy of the Tyrant #1
Author: Dawn McCullough White
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Historical
Elements: Vampires, Ghosts, Zombies
Publisher: Claypipe Press
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B00D38X41I
Published: May 28th, 2013
Source: Kismet Book Tours
Events: Book Tour
Rating: ★★★★

Once, in another world—a dark world, the world of Faetta—there lived paladins and pirates, tyrants and scallywags, vampires and the undead. In this world a revolution is brewing. The royalty of Sieunes are in chains, and those priests and paladins who follow the holy word of the gods are under attack. In the west, the kingdom of Kellerhald receives the fleeing priests in their temples of the paladins of Silvius, god of the Sky.

Here, a young woman has just passed her tests to become a paladin. A pirate crew raids along the Azez Sea. An undead creature, wielding great power, roams the graveyard of Yetta. And a lost soul, crying out from beyond the veil, seeks out a pure hearted warrior to hear its plea.

Amid the turmoil of the revolution, Ilka’s mettle is tested. Rescued by pirates, she ends up with an unlikely ally: the pirate captain himself. The newly trained paladin finds herself collaborating with the undead, working with a vampire, and worst of all, longing for revenge against the man who has ignited the revolution in Sieunes: Francois Mond...

Death of an Innocent. Rise of a Paladin.

Book One in the Trilogy of the Tyrant, a stand-alone series set fifteen years after the Trilogy of Shadows.

The Emblazoned Red was a book that I just couldn't put down, and when I had to, it was with reluctance. Ilka and Captain Nate were two characters that I couldn't help but love, and I was rooting for them from the very beginning. Waiting for Ilka to realize her feelings for Nate was so frustrating! But when that moment came I really wanted to scream, "YES!!" really loud. And of course there were characters that I really just did not like, Ilka's fellow Paladins and supposed friends, for one. They really proved where they stood and it definitely wasn't with Ilka. And the story itself is just amazing. There are still so many things left unsaid by the end and the cliffhanger has me desperate for the next book.

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Dawn McCullough White is known for her strong female protagonists, and gritty dark fantasy.

Ms. McCullough-White has lived the majority of her life in and around Rochester, NY with a brief stint in Tucson, AZ. She is pursuing a degree in psychology at R.I.T. Dawn is a history buff and was a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism for years, active as a heavy weapons fighter. She currently resides with her husband and son in a quaint neighborhood next to an old cemetery.



Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blog, A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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5 STARS | Armored Hearts by Melissa Turner Lee & Pauline Creeden

Title: Armored Hearts
Series: Armored Hearts #1
Author: Melissa Turner Lee, Pauline Creeden
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Paranormal
Publisher: AltWit Press
Format: PDF
ASIN: B00CL12T8M
Published: April 29th, 2013
Source: Reading Addiction Book Tours
Events: Book Tour
Rating: ★★★★★

When a crippled young lord rescues a girl falling from a tree, it reveals a secret about himself and his mother's side of the family that could put him at the center of a war with beings he thought only existed in fairy tales.

Tristan Gareth Smyth lived his entire life stuck at home at Waverly Park and left behind while his Grandfather makes trips to London, all because of his blasted wheelchair.

Then an American heiress falls in his lap, literally, and he must find a way to keep her at a distance to protect not only his secret, but everyone around him from an assassin sent to kill him.

I absolutely loved Armored Hearts. I was so caught up in the story that when I came to the end I was kind of disappointed and shocked that I had reached the end. AND...that was not a nice cliffhanger! I wanted to continue reading so much that I also picked up the prequel, Winter Fae. Armored Hearts is just so enthralling and I just couldn't stop reading. Just stunning!

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Melissa Turner Lee holds a BA in Communications with a concentration in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. She has studied fiction writing since 2008, attending various writing conferences and workshops, along with guidance from professional writing coaches. She resides in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and 3 sons.

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Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blog, A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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5 STARS | Astarte's Wrath by Trisha Wolfe

Title: Astarte's Wrath
Series: Kythan Guardians #0.5
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Age Group: New Adult
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Publisher: Trisha Wolfe
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B00BNZ6XV6
Published: March 2nd, 2013
Source: Trisha Wolfe
Events: Book Promotion
Rating: ★★★★★

Two thousand years before Dez Harkly developed her secret powers, Guardian Astarte was vowed to protect by the binds enslaving her to the Egyptian pharaohs. Discover the prophecy that originated from a very different time, and spans generations to link two very different girls.

This is the beginning.

Set against the backdrop of the Battle of Actium, in the city of Alexandria, Star struggles with her guardian duties as her feelings for the newly named pharaoh of Egypt grow deeper. Not only is Caesarion her duty, he's the son of Cleopatra, and he's human. All of which makes their love forbidden.

But when a conspiracy linked to Caesar creeps into Alexandria, Star must choose between helping her fellow Kythan free themselves of their servitude, and protecting her charge - the last pharaoh - while Egypt burns around her.

I absolutely loved Astarte's Wrath. It was equal part thrilling and heartbreaking. There was no way that I couldn't love the characters of Star and Xarion. Their love seems doomed--and in many ways it is--but there is also a hope that is brought forth from their love for each other. I'll admit that I was getting teary toward the end. I just couldn't help it, I loved these characters so much, that my heart broke for them. I loved how seamlessly this prequel flows into the main story of the Kythan Guardians series. I'm really excited to see what happens in Destiny's Fire.

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Trisha Wolfe is the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), the NA Historical/Supernatural ASTARTE'S WRATH, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. Her NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.

She’s the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.




Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blog, A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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3 STARS | The Blind Cupid by Karyn Gerrard

Title: The Blind Cupid
Series: The Edge #56, The Blind Cupid #1
Author: Karyn Gerrard
Age Group: Adult
Genres: Historical, Erotica, Romance
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Format: PDF
ASIN: B00ANEKKOE
Published: December 12th, 2012
Source: FMB Promotions
Events: Book Tour
Rating: ★★★
Series Reviews: The Edge: Night Music | Hypnotist | Friends with Benefits | Treason and Treacle

Was Cupid blind?

Anne Sommer, a spinster firmly on the shelf, does the unthinkable. She hires a man to give her pleasure for one night. Anne wants the erotic memories to keep her company in the lonely years ahead. She did not expect the young man who showed up at her door to move her in ways she never imagined.

Desmond Glover gives pleasure---for a price. An orphan whose childhood was mired in scandal and poverty, Desmond has learned to close off his emotions with regard to his occupation. He did not count on a lonely spinster to awaken his hidden passion.

Not only do the years separate them, but their social standings. Can Anne and Desmond cross such a chasm and find mutual desire---or love?

I really liked The Blind Cupid. When it looked like Anne and Desmond weren't going to work out, I was chanting over and over, "They have to be together, they have to be together." Their story was actually pretty sweet, and I couldn't help but love Desmond. I really liked his show a vulnerability at points, it showed that he wasn't as unfeeling as he lets on. I can't wait to read the next books in this series.

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Living in a small town in a corner of Ontario, Canada, I wile away my spare time writing and reading romance. As long as I can avoid being hit by a runaway moose here in this wilderness paradise, I assume everything is golden. Originally from the east coast of Canada.

I've been happily married for a long time to my own hero. His encouragement keeps me moving forward.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blogs, Zodiac Book Reviews and A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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4.5 STARS | Descent of Blood by Elizabeth Marx

Title: Descent of Blood
Series: Red Veil #0.5
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Age Group: Adult
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Historical
Elements: Vampires
Publisher: Elizabeth Marx
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B009YN23K4
Published: October 26th, 2012
Source: FMB Book Tours
Events: Book Tour
Rating: ★★★★.5

When times are darkest, some vampires desire more than blood …

England, 1465. Mortal men clash in the War of the Roses for the English crown, while vampire warriors’ move undetected among their ranks, savoring the flow of blood that battlefields provide.

Vampire prince, Severian Pearce, fears the revelation of the immortal clans to humankind should King Henry fall from power. While in pursuit of Henry’s enemies, Severian comes to the aid of Meridian Neville, a human woman he craves—and not for the scent of her blood … Meridian is torn between honoring her father’s dying wish and her unexplainable yearning for Lord Severian. But as Severian and Meridian work together to protect a relic hunted by mortals and immortals alike, the red veil descends over them. This all-consuming attraction can drive immortals to the brink of madness. Will the existence of this powerful bond between a human and a vampire be enough to unite the immortal clans or is the red veil a scourge set on destroying any chance they might have of happiness?

When all hope is lost, one vampire will fight unto death for his forbidden love.

I loved Descent of Blood! It was cool how it took place during the War of the Roses and the unique take on the war was very intriguing. I loved the two main characters, Severian and Meridian. Their personalities clash in some instances and mesh so well in others. For a prequel to the Red Veil series, I thought that Descent of Blood did a great job setting up the main story that will start in Ascent of Blood.

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Windy City writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs. She grew up in the city, has traveled extensively, and still says there’s no town like Chi-Town.





Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blogs, Zodiac Book Reviews and A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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3 STARS | The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne
Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #0.5
Author: Kady Cross
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal, Mystery
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B004WEKR1W
Published: May 1st, 2011
Source: Amazon
Events: Get Steampunk'd 2013 Reading Challenge
Rating: 3/5 STARS
Purchase: Amazon

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal.' Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined....

Finley Jayne has just been fired for punching the governess, who slapped the young son of the house and made him cry. She returns home feeling down until she is approached by Lady Morton with a job offer--be a companion for her daughter, Phoebe. Finley was suspicious and reluctant at first, but accepted the offer. She becomes friends with Phoebe and everything seems normal until the night of Phoebe's engagement party. There, Finley meets Lord Vincent, Phoebe's much older fiance. She felt suspicious about him before, but when she learns that she was hired to protect Phoebe from him, she realizes how serious things have become. Finley just needs to learn what he's up to before it's too late for Phoebe.

When reading The Girl in the Steel Corset, we know that Finley was working for Lady August-Raynes. This job with Lady Morton leads Finley to working there. She even warns Finley about Lord Felix. Which makes sense since this is the prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.

One thing I really liked about The Strange Case of Finley Jayne was the Phoebe and Lady Morton were really accepting of Finley and her strange abilities. I bet it felt real good to be accepted like that. Lord Vincent's little scheme and reasoning for marrying Phoebe were totally creepy--in an obsessive, drowning in grief and guilt way.

It was kind of funny how Griffin, or Lord Greythorne as he's known in this novella, is like this elusive person. Every time he's around, Finley completely misses him, except the time she saw his backside as he was walking out of the chocolate shop. "I don't have a chance with him, either. All I'll have is the memory of his backside." It's almost ironic considering what happens in The Girl in the Steel Corset.

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Kady Cross is a pseudonym for USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Smith. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and a pride of cats. She likes singing with Rock Band on the 360, British guys, Vietnamese food, and makeup (she’s hopelessly addicted to YouTube makeup tutorials!). When she’s not writing Kady likes to catch up on her favorite TV shows, read a good book or make her own cosmetics.


Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2013 to my book blogs, Zodiac Book Reviews and A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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5 STARS | The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel

Title: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel
Series: The Infernal Devices Manga #1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Artist: HyeKyung Baek
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Paranormal, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Yen Press
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0316200981
Published: October 30, 2012
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5 STARS
Purchase: Amazon

Tessa Gray thought her journey to London would be the beginning of a new life, but she never could have envisioned the dark turn that life would take...

Abducted upon her arrival, Tessa is introduced to London's Downworld, the sordid supernatural underbelly of the city, and informed that her future will be recast to service a man known as "The Magister." Only the intervention of the London Institute's Shadowhunters delivers the girl from this fate, but sinister forces are still gathering around Tessa. Even so, Tessa's attraction to two of the young Shadowhunters who have taken her under their wings may prove more dangerous by far...

This adaptation of Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel has been highly anticipated by fans worldwide, and I was no different. But I'm always wary of graphic novel adaptations of my favorite novel series, because a lot of the time the story becomes too watered down to be truly enjoyable. I've found that many adaptations published by Yen Press are very well done and the story retains its original depth. I didn't feel like I was missing anything while reading this graphic novel.

HyeKyung Baek's artwork is absolutely gorgeous. The emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of the setting are brought to visual life with the stunning artwork. The characters turned out to be pretty close to how I pictured them while reading the novel, well except for Henry (LOL). I was a little disappointed about the lack of visible runes--that's one of the things that set Shadowhunters apart from Mundanes. The stele looks more like a magical wand--I pictured the stele more like a magical tattoo gun. And the seraph blades look like regular swords, instead of a weapon of angelic power.

I know I'm being a little nit picky about the details, but I figure it's a lot more easier to draw the story as it's described in the novel accurately than it is to make a movie version. That's why I give more leeway to movie adaptations than graphic novel adaptations. It's harder to make the supernatural elements in a movie than in a graphic novel.

Aside from these finer details, I thought the character designs and architectural designs were perfect. Very appropriate to the time period.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this Clockwork Angel graphic novel. And let me tell you, those moments we all swooned at while reading the novel are a thousand times better when you can see them right in front of you.

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Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

HyeKyung Baek

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HyeKyung Baek is a bestselling manga creator in South Korea well known for her stylish flair and sense of drama. Her skills are ideally suited to bring the lives of the original Gossip Girl cast to life.

Disclaimer: This review was originally posted in 2012 to my book blogs, Zodiac Book Reviews and A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books.

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