Wednesday 30 October 2013

REVIEW: A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter


A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter

(Elemental Mysteries #1)

Genre: Paranormal Romance

FREEBIE: Amazon USAmazon UKSmashwords


SYNOPSIS:

"No secret stays hidden forever."

A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mystery he'd abandoned years before. He never expected a young librarian could hold the key to the search, nor could he have expected the danger she would attract. Now he and Beatrice De Novo will follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, through the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation they never could have predicted.

A Hidden Fire is a paranormal mystery/romance. It is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries Series.
THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE READERS AUDIENCES ONLY. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW ITSELF DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL.

  My Beatrice and Giovanni:


  * 5 STARS * Review:


Eventful story about young libarian Beatrice De Novo and mysterious Dr. Giovanni Vecchio is amazing introduction into this paranormal series. I loved it and I cannot wait to read more!

I love mysterious, unreadable heroes who keep to themselves. Dr. Giovanni Vecchio is one of them. Well educated and perfect gentleman. Self-confident, but he never came off as arrogant jerk. And there was so much more to him. It took me long time to partially figure him out and I'm sure there is plenty of other things I still don't know about him yet. He has became one of my favourite bookish characters!

Beatrice De Novo was intriguing character herself. Charming and intelligent. I really liked her boldness. Still, she was too stubborn, too passionate, never seeing things from others people's perspective. Sometimes age difference between her and Giovanni showed, and Giovanni had to put Beatrice to her place. At least he was never a jerk about it.

I have to mention that I loved chemistry between Giovanni and Beatrice. Their mutual attraction was electrifying!


A Hidden Fire is SLOW BURN kind of story. I'm not oppose to reading nicely written insta-love book, but "slow burn" has always been my preference. Gio and Beatrice formed weird friendship at first and than it gradually developped into something more...

I really like writing style of this author. It has some mysterious quality into it with hints of poetics here and there. It is really beautiful. Banters between hero and heroine were entertaining, over storyline very captivating and adventurous. I'm already looking forward to next book in the series!

Friday 25 October 2013

REVIEW: The Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter


The Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter
(Irin Chronicles #1)
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance


Synopsis:

Hidden at the crossroads of the world, an ancient race battles to protect humanity, even as it dies from within.

Ava Matheson came to Istanbul looking for answers, but others came looking for her. A reckless warrior guards her steps, but will Malachi’s own past blind him to the truth of who Ava might be? While ancient forces gather around them, both Ava and Malachi search for answers.

Whispering voices. Deadly touch. Their passion should be impossible... or it could be the only thing that will keep them alive.

THE SCRIBE is the first book in the Irin Chronicles, the new paranormal romance series from Elizabeth Hunter, author of the Elemental Mysteries.

* 5 STARS * Review:

“We’re all immortal, Ava, as long as our stories are told.”


Exciting story set in modern Instanbul with no insta-love. The Scribe was really refreshing urban fantasy novel which I enjoyed immensely!

Ava can hear voices in language she doesn't understand and sense the tone of other poeple's minds. Its her curse and her blessing. When she comes to Instanbul, hoping to find "cure" for her situation, couple of strangers start to follow her. Soon she will find out that there are forces in this world she never even imagined to exist before and she might be part of it herself...

I fell in love with the world author created in this book. And especially, I loved Malachi's character. "Tall, dark and brooding" as author described him. He was calm and loyal but also extremely passionate and intimidating when fighting for something he believed in. I loved how frustrated he became when things were not going his way. He was truly adorable man, yet fierce warrior.

And heroine? Ava was feisty, snarky and intelligent. Great combination. It does not happen very often that we have really mature heroine so I was glad for her character.

I really liked how author managed romance in this story. It took some time but once hero and heroine developped feelings for each other, it was intense. Fortunatelly, even though romance was very important in this book, it never took all spotlight in the story.

Another positive thing is that author kept me guessing for a while what exact supernatural creaters were present in the story. It kept me on my toes and I liked it a lot.

The Scribe is a movie material. I watched story enfold breathlessly between my eyes and I was mesmerized by beautiful writing style. Whole storyline was exciting and finale blew my mind. Now I am wreck and I need next book as soon as possible!!!

Monday 21 October 2013

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Where We Fell by Amber L. Johnson


Where We Fell by Amber L. Johnson

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release date: October 28th


Synopsis:

Oliver Bishop is having a seriously bad day. With one diagnosis, his life suddenly has an expiration date. Confused about the numbness he has to the idea of it, he unwittingly puts himself directly in the sights of a girl that just may give him a reason to fight - and to live.

  * 4 STARS * Review:



Oliver has shortly before his high school graduation when his future is taken away from him. While lives of his friends continue like nothing happened, he has to come in terms with the fact that he may have no future at all. Than he meets Hannah - direct, straightforward, opinionated girl who seems to be insterested in Oliver. But is this a right time to make new friends? Or to fall in love?
When I started this novella, I had NO idea what it was going to be about. Where We Fell is extremely touching story with parts that even brought tears to my eyes. It may be short story, but definitely a powerful one.

Once I started reading it, I could not tear myself from this story. Last 20% were a little tiny bit anti-climatic but I was still able to enjoy this novella immensely.

Amber L. Johnson is clearly a talented writer. I was pleasantly surprised by her debut novella and I cannot wait to read more by her!

Giveaway:

Enter HERE

Wednesday 16 October 2013

REVIEW: The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris


The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris

Genre: Contemporary Romance

3 STARS


Goodreads Blurb:

How do you hold on to a love that is slowly slipping away from you?
Can you let go of the past when you know what is in the future?
And how do you cope when you know that every kiss is a countdown to goodbye?

This is the story of a love affair, of Ryan and Molly and how they fell in love and were torn apart. The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they'd be together forever. Six years and thousands of kisses later she's married to the man she loves. But today, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted because the future holds something which neither of them could have ever predicted…

My Review:


My Molly and Ryan:


What happens when you meet The One when you are too young, when your dreams have not been fulfilled yet? You make mistakes. A big ones. And this is exactly what this story is about. Is Ryan the best thing that has ever happened to Molly? Is love strong enough to overcome unlike dreams and ideas about life? Or has destiny chosen completely different path for Molly?

"When you've been through what I have, gambled everything on love - and lost - you're never the same again. Not really."
The First Last Kiss is story about life and love, about dreams and reality, about mistakes and lessons, about growing up and learning through the way.

Readers know that something happened between Ryan and Molly. Was it good? Bad? Expected? Wanted? Sad? Author kept me guessing all the time. But unfortunatelly, I couldn't get into the story. I kept reading, hoping I would click with characters, but it never happend.

What was my problem with this book? Unusual formating of chapters. Main storyline was set in present, but heroine kept reliving and remembering her past.Out of chronological order. How can I feel compassion towards character when I am thrown into his/her turmoils without proper intro? In such a case, most of actions are misunderstood and I feel disconnected with character since there was no time for me to get to know him/her. I definitely prefer "slow burn" stories!

I can't deny that this is beautiful and sad story with important message for readers. Unfortunatelly, style of writing didn't work for me at all.