[Review] Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal
Lux series #3
Jennifer L. Armentrout
December 11, 2012
Entangled Teen
452 pages


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The Lux series continues with the third installment of this riveting paranormal YA series. No one is like Daemon Black. When he set out to prove his feelings for Katy, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something she’ll do again and now that they’ve made it through the rough patches, well, there’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on. But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they loved. With help coming from the most unlikely source and Adam’s death still lingering with those who loved him, friends will become the deadliest of enemies and the villains will no longer be clear. When each step they take in discovering the truth puts them in the path of the secret organization responsible torturing and testing hybrids, the more Katy realizes there is no end to what she’s capable of. They won’t turn back, even if the outcome will shatter their worlds forever.

Warning: Reviewing book 3 in the series. So it may contain spoilers if you have not read books 1 and 2 of the Lux series.

This book picks up right where the second leave off and doesn't hold back. I really enjoyed Opal, it was the most romantic of the three books so far. I love how Daemon and Katy have decided to finally give their relationship a go. They are dating officially by the third book. Daemon is very swoony in this book and I love how sweet he is. Don't get me wrong, he is still very much a bad boy and can be a jerk, but it is sweet to see him falling deeply in love with Katy adn Katy feels the same way. I like how Katy still isn't afraid to stand up to Daemon and fight for what feels right. There is one line I love in the book when Daemon tells Katy, "You make me want to be a better person - Luxen - Whatever." That is love, it should make you grow but not completely change you.

There was not much action in this book like there was in some of the previous books. Opal was good and as far as action went it was all leading us to the final scene that broke my heart right in two. All I will say is WTF, that is no way to end a book. I can not wait for the next book Origin and I have heard it will be told from Daemon and Katy's point of view. 

In conclusion, I give Opal four laser pistols because while not on the edge of my seat exciting, it was very romantic and I loved seeing Katy and Daemon's relationship grow from scorching hot chemistry to real love. I liked that healing was beginning to take place for Dee and Dawson as well. As always I love the snarky bits as well and hilarious movie references. I end the review with my favorite quote there is more, but I am just adding in the last line. "You'll have 15 min... so don't let a spitting dragon take you down."

I read this book as part of a three day read-a-thon hosted by other bloggers. I have included a link at the bottom for the blog Stuck in Books. Even though the Lux read-a-thon is over, they have some links to other cool Jennifer Armentrout fan read-a-longs. Go check it out.

http://www.stuckinbooks.com/

[Launch + Giveaway] August 6 Entangled Teen Launch Party!

Welcome to the Entangled Teen August 6 launch party! Today, we're celebrating the release of Out of Play by Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry, A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris, and Hover by Melissa West (coming August 13th).

Out of Play by Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry

Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn’t have a drug problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—just need a little help taking the edge off sometimes. After downing a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.　

Hockey player Penny Jones can’t imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers to all the best schools, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who’ll take care of her absentminded gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered to come home from work, let alone deal with their new tenants next door.

Penny’s not interested in dealing with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps and begins to see what he’s been missing. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.

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Jolene Perry: website | Twitter | Facebook

A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

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Hover by Melissa West

On Earth, seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander was taught to never peek, but if she hopes to survive life on her new planet, Loge, her eyes must never shut.

Because in this world, pleasure is everything, held up by a ruling body that keeps their people in check by giving them what they want and closing their eyes to what’s really happening around them. The only hope Loge has is to move its people to Earth, and they have a plan.

Thousands of humans crossed over to Loge after a poisonous neurotoxin released into Earth’s atmosphere, nearly killing them. They sought refuge in hopes of finding a new life, but what they became were slaves, built to wage war against their home planet. That is, unless Ari and Jackson can stop them.

But on Loge, nothing is as it seems…and no one can be trusted.

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Melissa West: Website | Twitter | Facebook

To celebrate, Entangled is giving away a paperback of each book! Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter.

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[DNF Review] Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur

Dancing with the Devil
Keri Arthur
July 30, 2013
Dell

ARC Provided by publisher via Netgalley

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Private Investigator Nikki James grew up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst and believes there’s nothing left to surprise her. But all that changes the night she follows a rich man’s daughter into the shadows and finds herself caught in a war between two very different men. One is a madman, intent on destruction. The other has his own heart of darkness.

For three hundred years, Michael Kelly has existed in life’s shadows, gradually learning to control his vampire cravings. He is convinced that no one can breach his formidable barriers—until he meets Nikki. With her powerful psychic abilities, Nikki swiftly invades both his mind and his heart. Nikki knows how dangerous love can be . . . but if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in this man who could easily destroy her. For only together can they overcome the evil threatening to destroy them both.

I don't usually post reviews on books I can't finish, or I don't like to. I got about 42% into the eBook version and I just can't make myself go pick it back up and finish it. This book is about Nicki, a P.I. who is also psychic and Michael, the man who is looking out for her. The book starts off with a bang, sinister men and zombies. After that it jsut kind of fizzles off and is like an other urban fantasy I have read.

The big secret isn't all that secret and there is chemistry between Michael and Nicki. For me,  I don't know, there just wasn't something there to hold my attention and I have been reading this book off and on for the past month. I think it is safe to say that I am not going to finish it. It wasn't horrible, just kinda boring and predictable for me. I give Dancing with the Devil two laser pistols as it is losing orbit.

[Audiobook Review] Dauntless by Jack Campbell

Dauntless
The Lost Fleet #1
Jack Campbell
July 2006
Penguin
293 pages

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The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century--and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized, beyond belief...

Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend...

I am a huge fan of naval fiction, both space and water. Jack Campbell has done a great job here without the aid of ships having the unexplainable ability to see objects light-hours away in real time nor weapons that fire faster than light. And in seems in the century since Captain Geary placed himself in hibernation that while the weapon technology hasn't changed much, the idea of tactics is a dead one.

Fleets on both sides of the war have turned the war into one of attrition with massive fleets facing off and just pummeling each other to bits. This appalls the "hero" to see, and he's got his job cut out for him to educate his side on how to fight.

When the entire flag staff of the fleet which rescues Geary is murdered, he finds himself the senior captain in a fleet that believes they already know what to do despite being outnumbered and outgunned. But with a quick mind, old fashioned tactics, and fleet officers who are willing to die for him, he might just have what it takes to save the majority of the fleet during its long retreat through enemy star systems back to home space.

Along the way he deals with treachery from both within and without and kept me on the edge of my seat and cheering for Geary the whole way. I give Dauntless a solid four laser pistols, it is truly out of this world.

[Review] The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

The Avery Shaw Experiment
Kelly Oram
May 2, 2013
Bluefields

Note:  This book is only available in
digital format.

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 When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

Have you ever finished a book and literally sighed at the end because it you had warm fuzzies when it was over?  If you answered yes, then you know what I was going through when I read the last page of The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram.  The Avery Shaw Experiment is about Avery who didn’t just get her heart broke but crushed by her best friend Aiden.  Luckily with the help his older brother Grayson she is starting to put the pieces back together by proving that the only way to cure a broken heart is to go through the five stages of grief.   Since Aiden is no longer her science fair partner she asks Grayson to help her.  Together they set out to prove Avery’s theory and find romance along the way.

The Avery Shaw Experiment is a very quick and very cute read.  I read it in a couple of hours.  When I had to the book down to go to work I felt like a drug addict because all I wanted to do was get back to the book to find out what happened next.  The Avery Shaw Experiment is a contemporary romantic comedy.  I loved that the book is told from both Avery and Grayson’s point of view.  I really liked how sometimes it takes someone who is the complete opposite to help get you out of your comfort zone and not to settle just because it’s there.  I liked how Avery grew from a quiet, scared and socially awkward to being able to stand up for herself.  I like how Grayson realized that he wasn’t just a dumb womanizing jock to going to college and falling in love.  The side characters, Avery’s best friend Libby, always put a smile on my face. 

In conclusion, if you are looking for a cute, sweet, and definitely warm fuzzy kind of read to past the time then pick up The Avery Shaw Experiment.  I highly recommend it and give it four very solid laser pistols.  Not to mention that I completely fell for Grayson, for Avery of course.

 

[Givaeaway] Double Prize Pack Giveaway!!!

Tired of the summer heat? Here's a great way to beat those summertime blues. Enter our awesome giveaway for a chance to win one of two prize packs. Each pack includes one book signed by the author. Both packs include books that we enjoyed during the early days of this summer.

The Goddess Star Prize Pack:
Signed Copy of The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Hardbound copy of For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

The Pushing the Collector Prize Pack:
Signed copy of Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
A copy of The Collector by Victoria Scott

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[Review] For Darkness Show the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars 
Diana Peterfreund
June 12th, 2012
Blazer& Bray imprint
of Harper Teen

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It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen's persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Tears filled my eyes and happiness flowed through my heart as I read the last page of For Darkness Show the Stars.  This book was fantastic.  Oh the feels, Oh the feels this book was so romantic.  It is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.  The world of For Darkness shows the Stars was what really drew me in.  I was fascinated with this dystopian post-apocalyptic society of three classes trying to seek out an existence on two islands.  In this world a genetic experiment from long past has created brain damaged humans called The Reduced and is the duty of normals or The Luddite nobility to take care of them.  There is also a class called The Posts who are not brain damaged or nobility.  The Posts do not want to be slaves like The Reduced.  They want to be treated as equals by The Luddites. 

 

Elliot is a Luddite who feels responsible for her estate and all the people living on it.  Kai is the son of the mechanic.  If you know the story of Persuasion then you know they loved each in the past but could not be together in the present.  Kai left the estate when they were both fourteen and both, him and Elliot, were forced to let go of their childhood dreams and grow up fast.  Now both are eighteen and Kai has come back to the estate but now he is no long Kai but Captain Wentforth.  To Elliot he seems cold and unforgiving of the past and wants nothing to do with her.  So as the story unfolds with all the same plot points as Persuasion.  It is Elliot herself that makes this story because she grows into such a strong character.  In the end is able to stand up for herself and what she wants to make her happy.   I loved the fantastical world that really could be any world any time in human history.  Humans are always going to humans and there will always be those who think they are better than everyone else.  I loved the history of world because post-apocalyptic societies fascinate me.  I love stories about how people survive and what they do after.  It doesn’t surprise me that when it all collapses and people are scared of technology things go back to the way would have been in Jane Austen’s time.  With the haves and the have nots.

 

In the end I think Jane Austen would have been proud of For Darkness Shows the Stars because it is pays great homage to the story of Persuasion and captures the essence of what makes it a beautiful and gut wrenching story.  It was so romantic and all without sex or even kissing.  I highly recommend this story because what started out the night before as “I am just going to read a few pages before bed” turned into a hundred and tonight I have read the last page because it was so hard to put down.  I give For Darkness Shows the Stars five laser pistols.  Go read this book!