Veiled Threat: Book 7 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) by Shannon Mayer

I was in the middle of reading another book (actually I was 85% finished) when I saw this book had come out; I snatched it up (on my Kindle) and dove in that minute. I absolutely LOVE this series. I haven’t read anything else by this author because I am nervous it won’t be as good. That is silly! I am potentially missing out on some fantastic reading!

This book takes up about a month after the last one finished. Rylee gets a break from fighting and takes a mini-holiday with Liam. The whole Liam-is-going-to-die thing was ever present and I am torn. I love Liam and so a part of me is hoping that all these cryptic comments from others about how Liam is more than a Guardian will explain the whole business. But I also am starting to like Doran now, but no wait…he can’t replace my Liam! It is so confusing and I feel like a teenager!

Orion is still the villain in the series, but we get a small glimpse of him in this book. We don’t have a lot of time with Pam or Milly but that is ok. We get lots of Alex (who is also changing) and that is awesome. I love Alex! There are a lot of new characters, both good and evil and Rylee gets to meet someone who is related to her.

These books always seem too short, but when it is nonstop action maybe that is for the best. I look forward to reading the next book and finding out what else Rylee can do. It’s all coming together!

The Will by Kristen Ashley (The Magdalene Series)

I keep debating between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I always round up anyway so let’s move on from that.

This book reminded me more of old school Kristen Ashley. I have read all of her books, but her recent releases have lost something for me. My all-time favorite is the Rock Chick series, which along with the budding romance has drama and action. While this one didn’t have the action that I love, I did enjoy most of the book.

Josephine Malone is the granddaughter of Lydia Malone who is a beloved matriarch of Magdalene, Maine. When she dies she has left some odd requests in her will. Because of this Josie is thrown together with Jake Spear and his family. These two are polar opposites and don’t get along very well, but Lydia wanted them to be friends so when trouble finds Josie, Jake is there to take her back.

I enjoyed Josie a lot. I’ve read some reviews of others who didn’t like her. She spoke in a very proper way which was part of the barriers Josie had built in her life. She is in love with her boss of twenty years.

Jake was a boxer and an owner of the town’s strip club. Not my favorite thing. There was a strip club in the Rock Chick series, but none of the heroes owned it and went there primarily to keep an eye on their trouble magnet ladies. It wasn’t a huge part of the book but I could have done without it. He could have done a variety of other vaguely illicit things that would have been more palatable.

Overall, I am looking forward to reading Coert’s story and will keep reading this series.

Obsidian Eyes by A.W. Exley

This is the first I have read anything by this author for young adults and may indeed be her first foray into this genre.  I absolutely loved The Artifact Hunter’s series that she is writing so I thought I would try this one.  I got it through the Amazon Prime loaning program so I didn’t actually pay for it and I am glad because I really didn’t love it.  I like the premise but the execution was off.

The world is split into people who belong either to the nobles or the guild.  This book follows two teenagers.  One girl who is part of the guild although in what capacity isn’t revealed until later in the book.  She has someone been granted admission into a school for noble kids.  The other is a guy who is a noble and betrothed to a nasty piece of work.  They meet when sparing and Jared is intrigued.  He doesn’t know girls who can fight.  Allie soon learns she has been sent for a reason and must decide between loyalties with her new friends or her life. 

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but overall it was the type of book I had no problem putting down and not picking back up for a while.  It read very flat and one dimensional most of the time. The ending happened too abruptly.  It is obvious it is being set up for a series, but there were too many things that felt unresolved.  I was actually startled to turn the page and learn it was the end.  The one thing I loved was Weasel.  I hope to read more about him.   

I am not sure if I will read the next installment.  There are so many good books out there calling my name.  But I did love the authors other series so I am not sure I am ready to give up on this one.   

Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster (London Steampunk Series #2)

I REALLY, REALLY loved the first book in this series (Kiss of Steel). This one didn’t live up to my hopes and dreams for the series, but it was still enjoyable and I will be reading the next book (My Lady Quicksilver).

This book follows Lena Todd (sister to the heroine in the first book) who is human. She is the ward (secret half sister) of Lord Barrons (a blue blood, which in this series means they need blood to survive but aren’t a full fledged, nasty vampire yet). The hero is Will Carver who is verwulfen, which from what I can tell is just a really strong person infected with the verwulfen virus. I haven’t heard of him turning into a wolf, but he does battle for control and his eyes change color, etc.

These two have history and chemistry but are both trying to stay away from each other for different reasons. Lena because she is afraid of rejection and Will because he doesn’t want to infect Lena. However, obviously they are thrown together. Lena hasn’t gotten herself involved in a scheme with the humanists that puts her and her family at risk. Will is called upon by the blue bloods to further the treaty between England and two other nations. Lena must teach him the etiquette to survive amongst the posh blue bloods. Will gets a whiff of her schemes and attempts to uncover her secrets. It turns out they are working for opposite sides that both have noble causes.

I hope that the next book (which follows the leader of the Queen’s Army) is more like the first one. They had such amazing chemistry I devoured the book in a couple days.

Tracker: A Rylee Adamson Story by Shannon Mayer

This is only the second book I’ve read since having my baby on December 12th so that alone should tell you how good it is! I was so excited to get started reading the next installment in Rylee’s life. This book pretty much takes up where the last book left off. Dox and his friends are dead (skinned alive by trolls) and Rylee is grieving for them. With Pamela and Milly in tow, Rylee, Alex and Liam make their way to Giselle’s house as a home base for now.

Faris is coming to take Rylee on her oath to kill the Child Empress (Rylee’s sister, Berget) and to install Faris as the ruler of the vampires. Rylee needs information from Doran first and heads there. Faris comes for Rylee and she embarks on this journey which takes them to Australia to find the Bloods (the first vampires). Of course, nothing goes as planned and Rylee ends up battered and bruised.

Alex is changing. He is becoming more dominant. I’m happy for him of course, but I love, love, love Alex. He is one of the reasons why I keep coming back for more. I am reading his short story now and reading this makes me appreciate that he is not as submissive as he started out. I don’t know what that means for him yet.

They are still on the Liam-must-die kick. Liam and Rylee didn’t spend much time together in this book and I wonder if that is a mechanism to get the reader distanced from Rylee/Liam love fest. I hope that Liam dying is perhaps the guardian taking over fully and not really that Liam will die, but who knows.

Both Doran and Faris were quite tolerable human beings (um…vampire beings?) in this book.

I loved this book and even being sleep deprived with a new baby and knowing I was going to get less than six hours of sleep last night I still wanted to stay up to finish this book!

Why it has been so long...

You will notice that there is a large amount of time between my last two posts.  I will explain.  I had my first baby on December 12, 2013.  She is a bit temperamental and reading has been scarce.  That is hard for me since reading is my stress release and a new baby is stressful.  There is a huge learning curve.  I feel like I am catching my breath now, but I have a huge pile of books that I want to read.  Everyone says, "nap while the baby naps" but I can't help but want to read during this time.  In truth, she is sleeping right now.  Her naps are so tiny that I have no chance to fall asleep so reading seems like a good choice.  I don't know how often I will be able to post reviews, but I suspect my little girl will slow it down a bit.  I will try to post relevant reviews.

Beyond Neverland by Heather Killough-Walden (Sequel to Forever Neverland)

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time.  I loved “Forever Neverland”.  I admittedly can’t remember much of that story line anymore, but when Beyond Neverland came out I bought it instantly. 

This book was written in a way that it sounded like poetry.  It makes sense for this type of book more than the author’s other works.  It was beautifully written.

This book takes up two years after the end of the first book.  Neverland was destroyed by Wendy’s story to save their lives.  Hook and Peter Pan had worked together to defeat the Never Bird.  Hook is transported back to his world where he is the pirate king.  Wendy, Michael and John all go back to their world where they are each separately going to either boarding school or university.  Wendy is about to turn twenty.  Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are somewhere together (perhaps London) trying to survive. 

One night a strange fog arrives and all the players know that it is not normal.  Someone is after revenge and everyone is drawn together again.  New villains are introduced to the reader and we learn more about Tinkerbell’s past. 

Favorite quote:

“Sometimes, if you’re lucky, fear leaves as monotony sets in.” –Michael Darling