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Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

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The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 27th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback
Source: won an ARC from a giveaway on Epic Reads

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson’s Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she’s never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Wow. I… I don’t even know what to write. Where to start. I really don’t think I can do this book justice. Well, I can at least say that I l o v e this book with all of my heart. The Fire and Thorns series is one of my absolute favorites, if not my very favorite fantasy series of all time. I am completely in love with this series. And I am so very happy with this last book in the trilogy. Oh and I just want to give a humungous THANK YOU to Epic Reads for the ARC! Totally squealed when I found out I won 🙂

So I had been dying to read this book ever since I finished The Crown of Embers, since CoE ends with a wicked cliffhanger. But not only that, I fell completely head-over-heels in love with the series, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the final book. The fantasy world-building is absolutely divine. It’s so well created, so fleshed out, that it feels like a real world to me. And I just love the Spanish influence Rae Carson has put in the world building (and I’m so grateful that I took Spanish classes in school!). I’m sure I’m pronouncing some names and words wrong, but whatever! The world where Elisa and Hector and Mara and Belén and Storm live in is so incredibly well written, so alive, it’s like its own character.

Elisa is a badass. She is one fantastic heroine. I love that she changes so much throughout the entire series, starting from an insecure, nervous girl, to one who reaches her full potential. She’s the damn queen of her kingdom, for christ’s sake, and she’s only 17! If there’s any heroine I would look up to, it would be Elisa, and I admire her inner strength, her intelligence, her independence, and basically everything about her because she’s amazing! I have a total girl crush on her. Throughout the entire book, she proves to everyone that she is fully capable of leading her kingdom, that she has what it takes to rule firmly, but compassionately. She doesn’t take anything for granted, and she values her life, the lives of those she loves, and the lives of those who live in her kingdom. And every time she comes up with an idea (which are always so epic and badass), I’m just like, You go, Elisa. Show ’em who’s boss queen. And at the heart of the series, I love that Elisa shows that you can pretty much do anything you set your mind to, if you give it all your effort. You don’t need to rely on outside forces to do what you want, because you have always had the capacity to accomplish what you want inside of you. And Elisa proves that even though she has the Godstone, she doesn’t always need its help to accomplish a goal.

It was a huge, lovely surprise when I started reading, and all of a sudden, there were chapters in HECTOR’S POV. I was so shocked, but excited, because Hector is the. b e s t. The BEST. He is one of my favorite book boyfriends ever. His love for Elisa shines through clearly, but doesn’t completely overcome everything else about him. His love for Elisa, his queen, and his quiet strength, loyalty, and dedication to his kingdom are so beautiful and inspiring.

“I love you the way a drowning man loves air. And it would destroy me to have you just a little.”

Both Hector and Elisa are independent people, and if they were to lose one another, it would devastate them, but they would survive and move on. And I love this. They have an epic love, but it’s not the be-all end-all for them. But basically, what I’m trying to say is that Elisa and Hector are perfect. Separately and together.

Every part of The Bitter Kingdom is intense. Rae Carson goes all out in the final book and holds nothing back. I was frightened for the characters one moment, and laughing the next. The secondary characters are incredibly well done, and I was surprised by how much I came to care for Storm, and by how much I was rooting for Mara and Belén. This book made my heart go absolutely crazy. It would be pounding because of some intense scene where someone is almost killed, or it would be melting because of some sweet words Hector says. I just wanted everyone to stay alive and survive through their journey, but the author is obviously a sadist (NO I’M KIDDING I LOVE YOU RAE CARSON!), because these characters do not have their journey cut out for them. Rescuing Hector, fighting Inviernos, killing nasty scorpions, Elisa and the gang are put up against so many things, but they never give up. AND I LOVE THEM SO FREAKING MUCH.

I can’t recommend this series enough. It’s epic. If you love fantasy, you’ll love the Fire and Thorns series. Even if fantasy’s not your thing, I’m pretty sure this series can change your mind about that. Love love love this series so much, but I’m so sad that the trilogy is over, even though I loved every bit of how it ended.

5 massive hearts.
5-hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Fire and Thorns series

The Shadow Cats by Rae Carson The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson The King's Guard by Rae Carson
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

#0.5 ~ The Shadow Cats: Ebook • Goodreads
#0.6 ~ The Shattered Mountain: Ebook • Goodreads
#0.7 ~ The Kind’s Guard: Ebook • Goodreads
#1 ~ The Girl of Fire and Thorns: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Crown of Embers: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Bitter Kingdom: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads

Mini Series Review: Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh

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psy-changeling series by nalini singh

psy-changeling revamped

So this is a first for me, reviewing an entire series instead of just one book at a time. But I figured since the Psy-Changeling series is a series (12 books and counting!), it would be easier for me to just gush about the series as a whole and make short reviews for each book. And this adult, paranormal romance series is the. best. I honestly had no idea I would fall this much in love with it, but I did, and I’m now such a huge fan of Nalini Singh. The only thing I don’t like about the series are the awful covers. I really, really don’t like them. Heart of Obsidian is the only cover I love (well, maybe Kiss of Snow too *cough* beautiful abs *cough*), but I’m so glad they revamped the book covers later. But whatever, who cares about the covers? It’s what’s on the inside that counts, and oh my god, this series is just one of my absolute favorites that I will never get tired of. I trust whatever Nalini Singh throws at us in future Psy-Changeling books.

Here’s a little bit about the Psy-Changeling series:

It is the year 2079, and there are 3 kinds of beings that exist in the Psy-Changeling world: humans, Psy, and Changelings. Humans are, obviously, just normal human beings. The Psy are like humans, except they have powers like telepathy, telekinesis, foresight, and a whole wide range of other powers, and they are under a regime called Silence. Changelings are the shifters, people who can shift into animals like wolves, leopards, hawks, rats, etc.

Silence is a huge part of the series. All Psy are under Silence (implemented in 1979), which means they have cut off all feelings, so they don’t feel any emotions, not love, happiness, sadness, lust, anger, fear, etc. The Council are the leaders of the Psy who are in charge of making sure Silence is maintained. However, Silence is breaking. Slowly, the Psy have been feeling more and more, and the Psy-Changeling series tells the ongoing story of the Psy learning to love again, and all humans, changeling, and Psy working together.

The series focuses on two changeling packs: the DarkRiver leopards and the SnowDancer wolves.

Slave to Sensation by Nalini SinghBook 1: Slave to Sensation • Ebook • Paperback
Lucas Hunter (changeling; DarkRiver Alpha) & Sascha Duncan (Psy)
Rating: 5
5-hearts

The first book of the Psy-Changeling series completely hooked me in. I wouldn’t have had the motivation to continue and finish the rest of the 12 books if I hadn’t loved Slave to Sensation. But I did end up loving it so much, and Lucas and Sascha’s story is one of my favorites of the series. It’s currently my third favorite book in this series. Lucas is the alpha of his DarkRiver leopard pack, centered in San Fransisco, and when he meets Sascha, sparks fly, even though it seems she has no feelings because she’s Psy. So Lucas slowly worms his way into Sascha’s heart and shows her how to feel and eventually, love. I love Lucas so much, his fierceness, strength, and capacity to love; he’s the main reason why I loved Slave to Sensation so much, though Sascha can hold her own too. I highly, highly recommend reading Slave to Sensation! Who knows, you might end up reading the entire series and loving it like I did!

Continue reading →

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

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Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Guys. HOLY FREAKING CRAP. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO SO MUCH OMG I LOVE RYAN WITH ALL OF MY HEART WHY CAN’T I BE IN HIS GROUP OF FRIENDS T_T AND THE BOTTLE OF RAIN OMG.

At the beginning I wanted Isaiah and Beth to go out because COME ON. After reading Pushing the Limits, how could they not be your OTP!? BUT I WAS WRONG. BECAUSE RYAN AND BETH ARE SERIOUSLY SO SO PERFECT TOGETHER YOU DO NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND.

Beth totally came off as a really tough and “do not mess with me” type of girl in the beginning of this book as well as in Pushing the Limits, but she’s seriously so sweet and has the best intentions for everyone and HER ATTITUDE IS SO BADASS I LOVE IT.

Anyways, I feel like I really enjoyed this book because it had the typical sporty jock guy, and the other girl, and I JUST LOVE BOOKS LIKE THAT. So I feel like that’s why I loved this one slightly more (actually just kidding, I don’t even know if I like it more than Pushing the Limits.) It was just… It felt like my type of contemporary book. But in a way, it’s also so much more than that because of both of Beth and Ryan’s family problems. I STILL LOVE ISAIAH THOUGH DON’T GET ME WRONG. I just like Beth with Ryan together more hehe. And I love that we see a different side of Beth than we did before!

OBVI.

5 hearts
shirley

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads

Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

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Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

Shit.

I… I am speechless.

Utterly floored.

I honestly cannot even begin to describe the emotions that I’m feeling right now after just finishing Losing Hope. So I’m just going to rant. And yeah, there’s gonna be some curse words in here. Cuz you just can’t rant without a little bad word here and there.

Let me just begin by saying I had every expectation of l o v i n g this book. I mean, duh, it’s Colleen Hoover! And to top it off with some sweet, sexy, 8-pack abs a cherry on top, it’s DEAN. HOLDER. Like, SA-WOON.

Dean Holder. I like, live, love this boy. This boy and his book stole a precious piece of my heart. And I’m like, you can have it. You can totally have it. JUST TAKE IT ALL OKAY? This books is filled with emotions and I felt every. single. one. Colleen Hoover, I applaud you. Absolutely bow down to you. Because you’ve done it again. You made me feel so damn much, I felt my heart was breaking a thousand times, only to have it stitched back together by your incredible words and the amount of heart and love in this beautiful book. But still. What the hell, Colleen Hoover? Are you trying to kill me over here? It wasn’t enough that with Hopeless, you broke my heart into pieces, but you had to have the nerve to write Losing Hope and rip my heart to shreds? Thanks. Thanks a lot. No, I mean it. Thank you.

Thank you for writing the most beautiful, incredible, emotional, raw, heartfelt book I’ve ever read.

What’s especially different with Losing Hope, besides the fact that it’s Hopeless from Holder’s POV, is that it’s not just everything from Hopeless. Interspersed throughout the chapters are journal entries that Holder writes to Les. We get to feel how sad and devastated and shattered Holder is from Les’s death, but we also feel how crushed and hurt and angry he is at her suicide. We get to see the events prior to the beginning of Hopeless, starting with Les’s suicide. But not everything’s depressing in Losing Hope, thank god, because we get to see how Holder slowly heals from his sister’s death with the help of Sky and his love for her. And we finally get a glimpse of the happily ever after for Holder and Sky.

Reading how Holder falls in love with Sky is just the b e s t. It was written so incredibly, I felt like I was falling a bit in love with Sky too LOL.

My all time favorite quote in the whole wide world:

“Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

I cried. I cried so. damn. much. It was like waterworks. And it all happened towards the end of the book. The Letter. The Favor. And The Final Chapter. Those 3 parts made me bawl and sob and wail and flail and made me look like a freaking lunatic with my nasty, red, tear-stained face. With The Letter, Holder is finally, finally absolved of all his guilt, but there’s still all this overwhelming sadness. I was only tearing up while reading The Letter, especially at the very end, and I never expected to actually cry. But then. Dean Holder. He started crying and it was just a domino effect. I started crying so, so much, tears pouring down my face because of part with The Letter, because of the whole book, but mostly for Dean Holder. This boy has been through so fucking butterflying much and it’s just like, is it finally going to end for him? Is he finally going to be able to be free of his past and his guilt? I just wanted to pick Holder out of the book, give him a huge hug, and hold him forever and forever. Of course, he wouldn’t let me, because he’s a total bamf. The sweetest bamf, still, mind you.

And oh my god, The Favor. Let me tell you, the moment he asked Sky to do him a favor, I knew, I knew exactly what the favor was going to be. It just popped right into my head. And when he said it, I started bawling and tears were just streaming down my face.

There were happy tears, but there were sad ones as well. Because how could you possibly not be saddened by a story like this? Yes, I’m happy it was a happy ending, I’m happy they survived, I’m happy they’re together and have each other. But still. As much as I loved Hopeless and Losing Hope, the subject of these books are pretty horrifying. All I can say is that if you have ever been through anything like what Sky has been through, or any trauma at all, then I hope that you have your very own Dean Holder or at least someone very much like him to be with you.

I honestly can’t say whether I loved Hopeless or Losing Hope more. But I can say that Losing Hope completely captured my heart. You should definitely read Hopeless before tackling on Losing Hope though. But I promise that you will not regret reading either of these stories.

6 BEAUTIFUL FARKING HEARTS
6-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Hopeless series

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

#1 ~ Hopeless: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Losing Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Finding Cinderella: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

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Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

God, Katie McGarry. You are ruining my life. Not only did Dare You To cause me to not pay attention in class (because I just HAD to read during class. There was no way I was waiting til I got home to read), but also… my standards in guys are getting way. too. high. KATIE MCGARRY YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT.

In case you didn’t already know this, I loved Pushing the Limits. Like, loved loved loved it. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and one of the few books that have made my cry a huge, sobbing mess. I rarely ever cry for books (I get teary-eyed more often than crying), but Pushing the Limits was just… incredible. Heart-wrenching. Absolutely fantastic. So if you haven’t read it, you should definitely check it out. But Dare You To is quite different than Pushing the Limits. It has a whole different feel to it that is still simply amazing. We have already been introduced to Beth in Pushing the Limits, and her story is with Ryan. I was pretty surprised when I found out that Beth wouldn’t end up with Isaiah (whose book I am SO EXCITED to read!!!). But of course Katie McGarry would find a way to make everything work out in the end. And it did!

Beth, at the start, is basically… a bitch. She’s very mean and pissy to everyone, including her uncle, Scott, and Ryan. But the thing is, I still liked her character. Yes, she gets very frustrating because of her hesitance and reluctance to have a relationship with Ryan, but I never hated or disliked her for her bitchy behavior. And honestly, her attitude is pretty reasonable, considering her mother is a drunk, a drug abuser, in love with her abusive boyfriend, and doesn’t give a crap about Beth. Beth’s deadbeat father left when she was young. She had no adult to take responsibility for herself and had to grow up on her own. So she’s definitely a tough girl. What I loved and was sad to see go away is Beth’s friendship with Noah and Isaiah. Once she moves in with her Uncle Scott, he wants her to cut all ties to her old life, including Noah and Isaiah. She meets up with them once or twice (and we get to see Echo!!!), but overall, she knows that she’s done with her old life. She’ll never have any best friends as awesome as Noah and Isaiah, but she can’t keep living in the past anymore. She has to move on, and Ryan is a huge part of that process.

Ryan Stone. *swoon* Ryan is probably one of the sweetest, most incredible boys I’ve ever read. He’s not a bad boy. He’s a good guy through and through. I never expected to like reading about a jock, and a baseball player at that, but Ryan is just… amazing. I fell completely in love with him and his heartwarming gestures. Katie McGarry is able to write him in such a way that he has depth, that shows us how much he loves baseball, and that he’s so much more than a jock. And he loves to write too! Rarely do I ever read about a guy who loves to write and can write well, so it was a nice and refreshing change, one that made Ryan all the more endearing.

And that bottle of rain. So. Damn. Sweet. My heart was going wonky for him during that scene.

One thing I love is that Beth is very straightforward. From Pushing the Limits, we know that Isaiah is in love with Beth, but we’re not sure if she feels the same way. In Dare You To, once she meets Ryan and finds a connection with him, she knows that she’ll never return Isaiah’s feelings, because she loves Ryan. And I was so glad that she got that. She shot Isaiah straight down, didn’t allow him to be strung along on a love that would never work. I really liked that about Beth, admired and respected her for it.

I loved seeing both Beth and Ryan grow and mature throughout the book. And the ending was so intense! So did not expect that. Basically, I loved everything about Dare You To, and am so so so excited for the 3rd book in the series to come out! I am 1000% sure that Isaiah’s story will be perfection.

5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: My Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads