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NEW RELEASE! Review – Drowning in the Dark (The Veil Series #4) by Pippa DaCosta

Posted on February 27, 2015 by charmouabb

“I wasn’t demon enough to defeat my brother before. Things have changed.”

As the veil begins to fall, and the demons bleed through onto the streets of Boston, Muse knows the battle is lost before it’s even begun.

To make matters worse, Adam and the Institute have captured Akil at a time when the city has never needed him more. Muse believes Akil’s incarceration is a ruse, because if he truly is at the mercy of the Institute, she must choose which side she’ll fight for. Human or demon?

The princes are coming. Valenti, Muse’s immortal half-brother, leads the charge. The Institute is not ready, the people of Boston are not prepared, but one man is. Stefan knows what it will take to beat back the netherworld. Will his demon allow him the freedom to right his wrongs?

Muse’s loyalty will be tested. To save those she loves, she must give up that which she cherishes most. Her humanity.

The Mother of Destruction is about to go nuclear.

Can we please just take a moment to relive the amazingness that was that prologue…

…The things she’s doing to me. I am not this man. I am demon. And yet this impossible woman undermines everything. Undermines me. Burrows deep. Deep into shadows, into darkness, into facets I’ve refused to acknowledge.

Oh my LIFE Akil. The prince of Greed is seriously off kilter, it’s unsettling, especially for Muse. Common sense tells her that he is deluding himself thinking that he feels something for her. But she can’t seem to get away from the fact that his actions are trying to prove otherwise. Welcome to the very complicated world half-blood Muse. Right from that prologue I knew that I was going to be lost to this book. I have been an avid follower of this series and as the story has twisted and turned into hell and back I have had my emotions wrung out too many times to count. That doesn’t change here in book 4, in fact I think my heart was lucky to survive this instalment.

 

We land in this story right as the Institute makes their biggest move yet and captures Akil AKA Mammon. Muse is horrified, Akil needs to be out in Boston helping them fight the demons and Princes that are heading Boston’s way, but no one is listening to her.  Muse knows she has a limited amount of time until chaos claims her and she wants to do everything she can to prevent the two worlds from colliding. This is where Stefan comes in. He’s back and it seems that he and his demon are wanting very different things.

I don’t want to say too much more specifically about the story because you really want to be able to feel shocked, stunned and spun-out as the story demands it. Because that is one of the strengths of this series, these demons really keep you on your toes! I’m still unsure where each demon stands exactly in relation to Muse and humanity. I am in love AND hate(!) with parts of both Akil and Stefan, which is completely owing to the care Pippa DaCosta takes in her character building. Demons by their very nature should be confusing to our human sensibilities and that absolutely is achieved. I don’t know half the time if I want to love these guys or kick them! So yes, I’m conflicted. I don’t know if I should be, but I am. 

Meanwhile Muse is still the badass chick I have come to expect. Even at her darkest hour, even when she feels her control slipping away. Even when she’s not sure she has anything left to give or to fight for, she pulls out the biggest guns that she can and she hits full throttle. Every. Single. Damn. Time. You can’t beat an epic female character and Muse definitely delivers.

So you need to read this book. Like you seriously need to read this book. Obviously if you’ve been following this series then you’ll already be one step ahead and will be currently reading this book… But if not then get onto it! If you’re new to this series then you REALLY need to get onto it and read all of the books! I will end with one word of warning… The ending of this book… it almost killed me, mostly from multiple heart attacks, but also from knowing that I now have to wait until APRIL to find out what on earth had just happened! (In more ways than one) I’m still slowly coming to terms with Drowning in the Dark (can you tell!) I need closure…. So I swear nothing is coming between me and the final book in this series…

ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review

Drowning In The Dark: A Muse Urban Fantasy (The Veil Series Book 4)

By Pippa DaCosta

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Blog Tour and Review: Scared of Forever by Jacqueline Abrahams

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Amy-OUABB

Scared of Forever (Scared, #2) by Jacqueline Abrahams

Release Date: December 14, 2014

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22608082-scared-of-forever

Synopsis

Every lie, no matter how small, has some degree of truth.

Five months after moving to New York City, Emily is engaged to Blake Carson, future doctor and the man who she believes to be the love of her life. Until she starts to realize that the foundation upon which she’s building her future is based on a series of Blake’s self-serving lies.

Blake can’t let her go. He can’t continue to deceive Emily, either. But Blake’s biggest problem is that he has to maintain the life he has become accustomed to, at any cost. And that means keeping his overbearing mother happy, and keeping Emily ignorant.

Tyler Carson left New York City two years ago, happy to leave behind all of the Carson family drama. Until he comes home and meets Emily. Falling in love with his brother’s fiancée was easy. Protecting her from his family was necessary. Leaving her was almost impossible, knowing that he was breaking her heart, and his own.

Finding solace in her friendship with Tyler, Emily is forced to face the reality that Blake is not the man she thought he was. But neither is Tyler, the friend who gave her the clarity she needed, and then left her alone to pick up the shattered pieces of her life. Heartbroken and deserted, Emily has had enough of the Carson brothers.

But sometimes, love is not that which sends us soaring, but that which keeps us grounded. Can Emily ever bring herself to love another Carson completely?

Secrets, lies and lust-filled nights, all in the name of the screwed-up pursuit of happily ever after, Scared of Forever is the second novel in the Scared Series, which features characters from Scared of Beautiful, but can be read as a standalone.

Excerpt

His eyes search mine, looking for an answer. Some sign of hope. They bore into me intensely. My entire body lights up, a burning warmth coursing through my mid-section. I’m so scared of my actions around Tyler now, especially when I’m so uninhibited by alcohol.

I grab his hand silently and we walk down the corridor. I open the first door we see and turn the handle. It opens easily. In the dark, with only a small amount of moonlight illuminating the room from a small, high window, I see rows of crockery and cutlery on metal shelving down the center of the long room. I push the lock button on the door, sealing us both in.

Tyler eyes me cautiously. “Emily, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to be alone with me?” I ask, taking a step forward, meeting his eyes in a silent challenge.

“No,” he says. “I’m saying I don’t trust myself alone with you.” Tyler snakes an arm around my waist. My skin burns under his touch.

“We’ve been alone before. Why is this time different?”

“You know why,” he whispers. Tyler looks as if it’s taking all of his willpower to maintain his resolve against me.

“I don’t,” I say softly. “Tell me why.”

“You’re beautiful,” he says with a smile. “But you’ve been drinking. And believe me when I say that I’m using every ounce of restraint that I have to stay away from you. How will you feel about this in the morning?”

“I may have been drinking, but you will still be Tyler in the morning. The world may end. But you’ll still be you. I’ll still be me. We’ll still have been here, alone. And I’ll still remember why I locked that door,” I say softly. “Your brain may be telling you one thing, but your body—” I stop speaking as I let my eyes wander down to the very obvious hard on in his pants.

Tyler takes a step forward and crashes his lips into mine without a second’s more hesitation. My mind finally catches up to my body, realizing that I have wanted this for so long. Our lips dissolve into each other’s. My god! His lips. This kiss. So sweetly erotic. Tyler grips me firmly around the waist and moves closer, gently pushing me against the cold wall. I don’t even register the temperature. My own body feels like it has been lit on fire. His hand reaches back to unclip my hair, and it falls freely over my shoulders.

My hands grab hungrily at his shirt, yanking it from his pants. I feel him, hard in every way imaginable, pressed against my thigh. My fingers move fluidly up his back, feeling his muscles clench under my touch. He gently turns my face and leaves a trail of soft, delicious kisses down my neck. I move to undo his belt. I want to feel him. Need to. To know, just once, what Tyler Carson feels like. The smell of him is intoxicating. As he delivers kiss after mind-blowing kiss, his hands roam freely, as if memorizing every curve of my body. His fingers leave blazing trails on my skin wherever they venture.

He leans up abruptly and cups my face in his hands. “Tell me you want this. Tell me you want me,” he whispers lowly, searching my eyes, his breath ragged.

My Review

I have to admit that I wasn’t too sure about this book in the beginning.  Scared of Forever is Blake and Emily’s story. We first meet up with Blake in Scared of Beautiful and he wasn’t my favorite character. But, the synopsis of this story drew me in, so I decided to give him a chance. 

Blake and Emily become engaged only 5 months after being together. Emily believes that she has met the perfect guy. That is until she starts discovering certain things don’t add up.  Blake has a plan.  In order to keep his lifestyle the way that it is, he must do whatever it takes to keep his mother happy. Emily is the answer to his problem. The perfect fiancee. Only he’s keeping a big secret from her……Tyler is the brother who no one talks about. The black sheep of the family. He’s been gone for 2 years and now he’s come home. The last thing he ever planned on was falling for his brother’s fiancee. He wants to protect her from his family and the lies that his brother has told her. But, what will happen when Emily learns those lies?? Lies will be discovered, hearts will be broken. Will Emily be able to put her life back together when it all shatters around her? Will love be enough??

I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t love this story in the beginning. I’m not usually a fan of love triangles and I take even bigger issue with cheaters. But, I wanted to give this story a fair chance and I’m honestly glad that I did. 

Blake, I’m sorry, but you were a HUGE jerk! I hated the way that he treated Emily. He had no respect for her. And I’m not gonna lie, I was happy to see him get what was coming to him. I didn’t find myself feeling bad for him at all.

Tyler….I loved Tyler from the moment his character was introduced. He was such a refreshing change from Blake. Someone friendly, who wanted to spend time with Emily. He was honest with her, and made her question things that didn’t quite add up. And he was loyal and told the brutal truth, even though he knew the outcome would hurt him as well.  He didn’t plan on falling for Emily, it just happened. Emily and Tyler shared an instant connection and I couldn’t help myself from rooting for them to find some happiness.

Scared of Forever was a super quick read for me. The story line was interesting, kept me wanting to know what would happen next and was told from multiple pov’s. Scared of Forever had a lot of great twists and turns and had me feeling a huge variety of emotions. I was frustrated, and annoyed, but by the end of the story, I had a huge smile on my face. I kept going back and forth with my rating on this one, but the last 1/4 of the book changed my whole opinion of the book.  Overall, I thought this was a good read and am glad that I gave it a chance. 

*An ARC copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review*

Purchase Links

✎ Scared of Forever (Scared, #2)

Amazon US http://amzn.com/B00NP1NNW8

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NP1NNW8

✎  Infinite Fear – A Novella (Scared #0.5) 

Amazon US http://amzn.com/B00MI9WDWE

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MI9WDWE

 

✎  Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)

Amazon US  http://amzn.com/B00LJAYYJS

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LJAYYJS

 About the Author

Jacqueline Abrahams is the author alter ego for an ordinary mum to three children (two human and one canine) and wife to one husband. Born in South Africa, she now calls Sydney, Australia her home.

A collector all things books and bookish, she in an avid reader and has a tiny obsession with filling bookshelves. When she’s not preoccupied wearing her aspiring author or mummy hat, she is working her way towards completing a degree in Primary and Secondary Teaching (with an English major of course!)

Goodreads Page – www.goodreads.com/authorjacquelineabrahams

Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jacqueline-Abrahams/1437774169822127

Twitter – @authorjabrahams

Website – http://authorjacquelineabrahams.blogspot.com

Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00LLSL8W4

 

Giveaway – Open Internationally

$25 make your own swag Zazzle gift card

5 X Scared series ebook sets (ebooks of Scared of Beautiful, Infinite Fear and Scared of Forever)

1 X Scared series print set (Scared of Beautiful and Scared of Forever)

2 X$10 Amazon gift cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Book Review – An Imaginary House by the Sea (Bridgeport #1) by Cecily Gates

Posted on December 10, 2014 by charmouabb

Kindly received from author in return for an honest review

“Love is a messy thing. That hopelessly devoted, deep-in-your-bones kind of love we used to dream about when we were kids—it turns out that it’s hard. It aches. It takes time. Like a house that weathers the ages, it must be built, brick by brick.”

Snarky and ambitious Dawn Campbell almost had it all: a job producing lavish celebrity events, a hip downtown apartment, and a studmuffin of a boyfriend. But after losing all three in one fell swoop, Dawn finds herself resorting to the unimaginable: returning home to Bridgeport, an oceanside town where the air smells sweet but not much happens.

When a chance encounter brings her into the sturdy arms of John Brown, her childhood best friend, old feelings come rushing back. As the sparks fly, life finally starts to look up for Dawn…until she meets his wife.

Marguerite Brown has everything that Dawn doesn’t: a killer fashion sense, a breathtaking beauty, and a French accent—oh, and the kind of temperament that makes great white sharks seem docile in comparison. Determined to release John from an unhappy marriage, Dawn turns on the charm and makes a plan to finally win back her one-that-got-away.

But after Dawn stumbles upon a secret that, up until now, Marguerite has meticulously kept hidden, the two women are thrust into an unexpected friendship. An Imaginary House by the Sea follows Dawn’s journey towards self-rediscovery, finding purpose, and building a more complex, steadfast kind of love than she could have ever imagined.

 

I have to admit. Dawn and I definitely did not see eye to eye in a lot of instances in this story. She came into the story shallow and self-absorbed, maybe a little wishy-washy. As many times as I was impressed with her snarky remarks and self-preservation skills, I was also shaking my head and eye rolling her. However, that’s how she came into the story. Part way through the book I found myself seeing more and more glimpses of a different Dawn. By the end of the book I had decided that actually, I really loved Dawn, she had grown into someone I really connected with, someone who I fervently wanted everything good for and I ended up really respecting this woman who was brave enough to take stock of her shortcomings and make a change.

At the heart of this book is the development and growth of a woman who was lost in life without even knowing it, she thought she had everything she ever wanted. This is not a story where a boy comes along and suddenly everything is complete and perfect, this is no fairy-tale. It is a story full of heart and heartbreak. This book had me in tears more than once. It had my heart and my mind tied up in knots. I felt torn between what I wanted for the characters and it reminded me that the universe is completely and utterly unfair… And apparently it has no sense of timing either.

One part that I absolutely LOVED in this book, which sometimes can be more a miss than a hit, was the use of flashbacks. You can’t tell a story like this without delving into the past and I loved how we watched Dawn and John together as awkward teenagers, stolen moments that were peppered into the current day story-telling at just the right time. These flashbacks really added depth to their chemistry and connection, highlighting all of the change between them, yet at the same time affirming everything that had stayed the same.

I loved that I read a book where I connected to the supporting characters in the way I did here. John’s wife Marguerite definitely deserves a special mention. Her story really made the book for me. It was carefully and beautifully written, approached in a way that showed there was so much more to this character than her situation and it was thanks to this, that my heart was split in so many different directions.

This is one of those books that will have you questioning your perceptions of people and possibly even that blurry line between what is right in the perfect world vs. what happens in the reality of the world. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve spoken about the emotional toll this book takes but there is a lot to celebrate and be positive within it as well. Happily ever afters are so much sweeter after an emotional roller coaster aren’t they! So no, it’s not a doom and gloom read, but I love books that make me feel and this definitely had me feeling every emotion possible. This is absolutely a book that is well worth reading and I’m looking forward to following the series on.

 

An Imaginary House by the Sea (A Bridgeport Novel) (Volume 1)

By Cecily Gates

  photo credit: kevin dooley via photopin ccphoto credit: Nick Kenrick.. via photopin cc

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Book Review – Beyond The Veil (The Veil Series #1) by Pippa DaCosta

Posted on July 21, 2014 by charmouabb

Both my BBH and I have had this book to read for a few weeks now. Since we both love UF we had picked it up on an Amazon special. The blurb really caught our eye. A story of demons, demons that were freely walking our world. Sounds crazy to say the least!

“They say I’m half demon, but I like to think of myself as half human, especially as the demons want me dead.”

Charlie Henderson is living a lie. Her real name is Muse and her attempt at a normal life is about to go up in smoke.

When a half-demon assassin walks into her life, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, Muse must return to the one man she hoped never to see again and ask for help. The Prince of Greed isn’t known for his charity. The price is high, but the cost could tear her apart.

Trapped between the malevolent intentions of a Prince of Hell, an assassin with ulterior motives, and her bloodthirsty demon-kin, Muse must embrace the lure of chaos at her core; the demon inside her, in order to survive.

When your ex is the Prince of Greed, you’d better be ready to raise hell.

This is the story of Charlie (Demon name Muse.) She was living a relatively normal human life until everything she held close was ripped away from her and she found herself fighting to stay alive. She is what is known as a half-blood, meaning she fits in nowhere. She doesn’t fit in in the human world and she definitely doesn’t fit in in the demon world since generally half-bloods are killed by their full-blooded demon counterparts. Charlie however had received a fate worse than death, she was ‘kept’ by a demon as a kind of a plaything. There are plenty of hints during this story at the horrors she had to withstand at the mercy of her ‘owner.’ I do wish that this past had been explored and detailed a little more, especially since she’d refer back to it as reasoning for her actions, or the actions of her ex. As it was it felt sometimes like this book started somewhere in the middle of her story.

As for the two leading men… Akil vs Stephen. Akil is Charlie’s ex… AKA Mammon, Prince of Greed. Whoa, he really packed a punch figuratively and literally. He was the epitome of power and violence. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him and he did surprise me a few times. To be honest, at the end of the book I still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him and I actually really like this fact. I feel like there’s a way to go before we start to untwist Akil and untwist his relationship with Charlie. As for Stephen, I actually feel like I am even more unsure of him and his motives than I was of Akil if that’s even possible. He is nothing but mysterious. I felt like every time I thought I was pinning him down he’d change direction again. And again. And again. The ending held quite the cliff-hanger for Stephen and I can’t wait to see what the second book holds for him.

This was a really solid start to a series that I think can only get better. There is a lot of storyline I want to find out more about, there’s a strange type of love triangle going on that definitely needs to be resolved and there’s so much more of these worlds I want to see (both human with demons masquerading as humans AND beyond the veil.) I think the story is hitting the right pace and I love where it seems to be heading. My only wish is that Charlie will begin to find herself more as the story evolves, Mostly at the moment Charlie’s character has me feeling a bit conflicted. I just wanted her to actually back herself up for once. But maybe that is yet to come? I’m sure with a bit of growth I’ll be completely in her corner.

Beyond The Veil (The Veil Series Book 1)

By Pippa DaCosta

 photo credit: koni_94 via photopin ccphoto credit: 96dpi via photopin cc

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Posted in 3.5 Stars, Charmaine, Urban Fantasy and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Warrior Queen (The Guinevere Trilogy) by Lavinia Collins

Posted on June 25, 2014 by charmouabb

This book was received from the Author in return for an honest review

A sumptuous romance based around the life of Guinevere and Arthur’s Court.

Never before has the magical world of Queen Guinevere, King Arthur and Lancelot and the knights of the Round Table been so deeply explored than in this warming saga of passion, duty and infidelity. Drawing on a rich seam of historical sources Lavinia Collins has created a fictional masterpiece, and epic romance that will stand the test of time.

The Warrior Queen is the first full novel length instalment of the Guinevere Trilogy. A Champion’s Duty and The Day of Destiny will be released by Spring, 2014.

I wasn’t too sure what this book was going to be like. Everyone has heard of Guinevere, Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin. Everyone has read, heard or seen a story about them at one point or another. My husband is SUPER into the story of these characters; he’s seen the movies, read the books. He knows the story in many of its incantations. So he gave me a refresher course on all things Camelot, and off I dove into the book.

I was pleasantly surprised! This was no regurgitation of the standard Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot story. Every time I’d put the book down and update my husband on what was happening in the story, he was genuinely interested in the direction the book was taking and it was actually really really nice to be able to discuss a book with him as in depth as we discussed this. He’s not always so interested in my reading material! It also just goes to show that for this book, it doesn’t matter whether you have a passing knowledge in the subject like I did, or a much more in-depth knowledge like the husband does, the story captures you either way.

The story is told through Guinevere’s eyes. It focuses on her journey and tribulations as we follow her from her homeland, through to Arthur’s court, onto the battlefield and back into the sticky politics of being King Arthur’s Queen. I really enjoyed venturing through this classic story from her point of view. It did of course contain the stories of war and combat, and meetings around the round table, but it also had the details that would only come from telling the story through her eyes.

I loved that there was a decent dollop of magic type plot. Not too much that it seemed ridiculous, just enough to make it a bit dark and mystical. Another love was the chemistry, the Guinevere/Arthur/Lancelot love triangle. Serious chemistry! There were some scenes with so much of it you could almost feel it coming through the pages… When you read this you are not going be short on action (bedroom variety!) and I had no idea I’d end up feeling torn between these two men, but I did. It’s not always a sure thing to be able to write the characters with the right amount of heat and tension between them but the author has definitely hit the mark here. Her writing of these relationships makes sure that this storyline is much more deeply layered than just a simple romance.

Finally I’ve kept my favourite point for last. The world building. I could picture EVERYTHING in my head. I felt like I was there in Camelot with them. Sitting at the banquets, riding into war, the clothing, the weapons, the liaisons, the politics. The attention to detail was mind blowing. I love love love books that transport you to their world, and I was most definitely transported to Camelot. I was blown away with the descriptive writing, and it’s this descriptive writing that really has me wanting to read the next two installments, I can’t wait to follow this story to the end.

photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc

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Posted in 4 Stars, Charmaine, Romance and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Marked Ones: Book #1 in The Fairytail Saga by S. K Munt is FREE on Amazon at the moment!!

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Kristal

Woohoo! I have just discovered that the first book in The Fairytail Saga is free at the moment on Amazon! I loved this series! It’s an adult fairytale set in modern day Australia and it’s about mermaids! – come on!! Who wouldn’t love it?! I have to admit that I wasn’t sure about the whole mermaid thing before I read it but I beyond loved this whole series. I had to wait for each book, which was agony, but the full series is out now, so if you do get into it there’s no waiting! Yay. Well worth checking out and the best part is (have I mentioned this already?) the first book is FREE RIGHT NOW. Get it! It’s actually ranked #1 in Fairytales on Amazon at the moment too, so I’m not the only one that thinks this is gold (in case you aren’t sure about my judgement hah!)

Here’s a quick run down – 

Mermaids have three rules to abide by: To breed, to protect the environment, and to keep their existence a secret, at any cost. Princess Ivyanne has been saving herself for an arranged marriage that’s never eventuated since she came of age, to best culminate her unique bloodline. And when the time time comes for her to choose a new mate, the mer and human worlds collide as the race for her hart begins. 

There’s lots of good stuff going on in this book and for ONCE in my life I was on the right “team”. Even though, obviously, you don’t find out who the winner of Ivyannes heart is until the third and final book. So mosey on over to Amazon and check it out. 

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