Glass Frost by Liz DeJesus

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Book summary:

When joined together, Cinderella's slippers grant the wearer her heart's desire. But whose wish will be granted?
When Cinderella’s glass slipper is stolen, Queen Felicia sends her faithful steward Terrance to the real world to retrieve his love and witch-in-training, Bianca Frost. The power of the glass slipper in the wrong hands could ruin peace in Everafter. Bianca must gather every bit of magic she has learned in the past few weeks to find the slipper and protect her new love. Together, Bianca, Ming, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance venture deep into the heart of Everafter to seek clues as to who has stolen the slipper and why. Along the way, they uncover what happened to the Seven Dwarves after Snow White married the prince, but also learn the awful risk of tampering with black magic and the high price that must be paid for magical aid, even when used for good.
Bianca and Terrance’s relationship is put to the test. Through the pain of suffering and loss, Bianca must determine if following her gallant boyfriend into his faraway world is in fact her heart's desire.

          After reading First Frost aka the first book in this series I was both curious and afraid of reading this sequel. First Frost was one of the rare retellings I actually liked and I was afraid of reading this one, but I wanted to see more of these characters and the whole world at the same time. I'm glad I gave it a go.

         When Bianca returned from Everafter and after all the troubles and mysteries she survived there, it was time to go back to her normal life. Even though, she knew that her life won't ever again be the same. The moment Terrance appeared I knew we are going to go traveling again. Things in Everafter rarely ever calm down and this time there are some evil force trying to take control over it. That's not just the problem for fairy who live there but at the same time for Bianca's family as they have something evil witch needs and there is no stopping her. At the same time Bianca and Terrance must discover their feelings and find a way to work things out.

         Glass Frost was everything I expected it to be. It had enough of magic, adventure and romance just like books about faeries should. I'm glad that we could see even more magic in this one and to discover some new parts of Everafter. At the same time Bianca's relationship with her parents is something I enjoyed so much. It's a nicely built relationship.

          This book was a nice sequel to First Frost and I'm happy that the author presented new elements and new sides of the story.

Rating: 4 stars. 

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the author, Liz De Jesus. Thank you! 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written this word. All opinions are personal.

Waiting on Wednesday (#82)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

How far will a good girl go for the bad boy she loves?

Laney Holt is a preacher’s daughter. A good girl. Her only goal was to get married, have babies, and live happily ever after, just like her parents. Only that didn’t happen. The two people closest to her betrayed her, and Laney’s dreams came crashing down. Now she’s left with an empty space she doesn’t know how to fill. Until she meets Jake Theopolis, a daredevil with a death wish who has heartbreaker written all over him.

Jake has no interest in thinking beyond the here and now. All he wants out of life is the next rush, the next “feel-good” thing to keep his mind off the pain of his past. His latest rush? Showing Laney there’s more to life than being a good girl—and that going bad can be so much fun. Her only concern now is how she can ever hope to satisfy the wild side of a boy like Jake. She’s looking forward to trying. And so is Jake.

Expected publication: March 4th, 2014

Tanja's pick

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Expected publication: April 1st, 2014

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Cover Reveal: The Shadow Prince by Stacey O'Neale

This prequel novella will be FREE and available on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble on March 25, 2014!

Every sacrifice has consequences.

Sixteen-year-old Rowan has spent most of his life living among the mortals—learning to control the element of fire, impatiently awaiting the day his vengeful mother, Queen Prisma, will abdicate her throne. When he finally returns to Avalon for his coronation, his mother insists he must first prove his loyalty to the court by completing a secret mission:

Kill Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental daughter of the air court king.

Willing to do anything to remove his mother from power, he agrees to sacrifice the halfling. He returns to the mortal world with his best friend, Marcus, determined to kill the princess. But as he devises a plan, he starts to question whether or not he's capable of completing such a heinous task. And what price he will pay if he refuses?

Mortal Enchantment (Book 1)

ebook, 262 pages

Expected publication: May 20th 2014 by Phoenix Reign Publishing

≥GoodReads≤

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacey O'Neale started her career in publishing as a blogger turned publicist for two successful small publishers. She loves to write stories with swoony paranormal heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.

When she's not writing, she loves blogging and fangirling about books on twitter. Occasionally, she leaves her computer to go outside.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Until the next time, 

Cover Spotlight: Rock It by Jennifer Chance

For gals who love bad boys and musicians, Jennifer Chance brings ROCK IT - “the tale of a smoldering rocker and the fangirl who catches his eye—and finds herself living out her wildest dreams.” This is the first novel in the New Adult series, Rulebreakers , published by Random House’s Loveswept imprint.

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Book summary:

Lacey Dawes is a total pro at the talent agency where she works, and it doesn’t hurt that IMO Worldwide Media represents Dante Falcone. The rock god has starred in her fantasies since she was sixteen—and remains her secret crush to this day. So when Dante picks her to be the interim manager on his Dream It tour, Lacey can’t believe her luck. Handling Dante is sure to be the most exquisite, spine-tingling, nerve-wracking mix of business and pleasure ever.   Although Dante is grateful for the adoring fans who scream for one more of his full-throttle, soul-searing songs, being surrounded by a cadre of corporate types backstage is wearing thin. Then Lacey shows up. Yeah, she’s organized, smart, quick to get him what he wants before he knows he wants it—but Dante senses there’s something else going on with sweet, sexy Lacey. One kiss tells him what that “something” might be . . . and makes him hungry for more.

Author's bio

Jennifer Chance is the award-winning author of the new adult Rule Breakers series. A lover of books, romance, and happily-ever-afters, she lives and writes in Ohio. 

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Until the next time,

Quote of the Week: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Hello all. I've read one wonderful book a week or so ago and because its wonderful writing I know it's the best to share some quotes with you. I hope you'll see the beauty in it. I also hope to write a review for If You Find Me soon, as I need to find my words. But first quotes:

“We make attachments to what's familiar. We find the beauty, even in the lack. That's human. We make the best of what we're given.” 

“Funny how we can't hold onto time, even when it's strapped to our wrists” 

"If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But, the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you."

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Until the next time, 

Waiting on Wednesday (#81)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

Expected publication: March 18th, 2014

Tanja's pick

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

Expected publication: April 15th, 2014

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

Hello darlings. So this week we have another TTT post for you. In case you've forgotten it's a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. So this week the topic is top ten books that will make you cray. My fave kind of books. So here it is..

I'd love to see other picks and suggestions. So feel free to share them in comments below.

Until the next time,

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

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Book summary: 

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

          I've been ask many times why do I stay away from retellings and while every time my answer is the same - I don't want to ruin my ideals from the childhood and they are part of what I've become, I think that the truth is a bit different. I think I've been reading the wrong ones this whole time.

          Creating something new. That's the key my friends. Not only when talking about retellings, but writing stories in general. You could say that this one will be unique just by reading the blurb, the clash of Beauty and the Beast and Greek mythology is not something you see every day. But it's not just that, at the same time this story has Nyx, a unique female protagonist who is at the same time brave girl who wants to save her people but she, too, is a living creature who wants to live. Then there is Ignifex, our beast. The Gentle Lord who is dark and powerful. And then there is Shade, who might be someone truly important. But most of all they're shades of gray. Not good not bad, but something we all are - imperfect.

          Like my girl Glass said in her review - this is not a story where beauty fights everything. Cruel Beauty is a dark story which shows dark shadows and the castle full of dark places at the same time full of magic and secrets. Where you never know what the next door might lead to. At the same time the characters are dark and full of mischief but also vulnerable. Nyx is girl you can easily relate to, in a story where fighting for her family and those she loves meaning destroying everything she discovers.

         While this was an amazing world to meet and live in for a while I'm glad that this story has got its ending, but at the same time I cannot wait to read Glided Ashes and hear Maia's story.

Rating: 5 stars. 

Until the next time,

Quote of the Week: And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Hey all. Recently I have read a book called And We Stay and from my review you could see that I wasn't the biggest fan of the book I must say that it had one poem that truly fascinated me. I love it. So I thought why now share it with you. So here it is

Conception 

She laid herself down in the velvet
of dark, the thing chirps of crickets
in the field outside the window,
the window he had opened,
the window he believed in.  

When he lay down beside her,
the boy whispers truths
into the palm of her hand.
Do not leave, he said.
Do not go. Never cut me
out; if you do you'll feel
a sadness true as the trees.
He kissed her lifeline
and sealed his secrets there.

Emily Beam, March 16, 1995

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Until the next time,

ARC Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

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Book summary: 

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 
Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.
Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.
But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 
Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

          I can freely say that 2014 is a year of great expectations when it comes to YA lit. So many new authors and not to mention the sequels that we're waiting for. Alienated was one on my list and I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book.

         Because as usual I don't read blurbs I expected this book to be about parallel universes or better said I had movie titled Upside Down in my head, but as soon as I cracked open this book I knew that we'd go the different way and we did. Surprisingly I haven't read that many books about aliens considering how mainstream they are, but I can tell you that this one promises a lot.

        So as usual we have a girl, Cara who is from Earth. She is highly intelligent and outgoing girl. Then there is a boy, Aelyx. He is alien, inhumanly intelligent but cold, because of DNA modifications. Basically on L'eihr the planted he is coming from the normal reproduction is banished and they all get genetically superior features, in almost all sectors, but one - emotional. For them intelligence is main aspect of their society where emotions are leveled to minimum. Once the whole exchange program starts the two of them have to find a way around each other, because they both have greater goals. Cara has to get the money because of their financial  situation and Aelyx must go on with the plan he is sent to do.

      But fear not my friends, this book is much more than girl meats boy and she falls for the boy and after quite some time boy also falls for her. The great thing about this book is the whole world building. The author nicely created the L'eihr and not giving all information at once but piece by piece she manages to keep your attention and makes you turn pages as fast as you can. One thing that surprised me a lot in this book is humor. I laughed a lot and honestly I didn't expect that.

      Only aspect of the story that I was missing, was the whole situation that happened when the first interaction with Earth and L'eihr occurred. Not only out of curiosity but also because it'd help us understand the whole human despise towards the other planted. I do get the reasons, but not the reason they started the exchange program if people were so against it.

      Anyhow I cannot wait for the next book and our trip to L'eihr.

Rating: 4 stars. 

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book is kindly provided by the publisher, Disney Hyperion, via NetGalley. Thank you! 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a love of written word. All opinions are personal.