Book Review: The Untamed by Sebastian A. Jones!

The Untamed: A Sinner's Prayer (Graphic Novel)
Author:  Sebastian A. Jones, Andrew Cosby (Foreword), Peter Bergting (Illustrator), Darrell May (Illustrator)
Publication Date: October 26, 2014
Published: Stranger Comics

My Rating:

I was given a second chance in death.
Vengeance was offered and I was quick to accept."

A cloaked Stranger slips into the rustic Town of Oasis changing things forever. Ten years it had been since he ran this town with malice and harshness. Even then there was hope for his soul. His wife and daughter were on the verge of turning him from wickedness. But they were murdered, and so was he. He is granted seven days to reap seven souls and gain a chance at revenge. Conflict arises as a young girl (Niobe Ayutami) reminds him of his murdered daughter. She acts as his conscience and become his only hope for salvation.

The Untamed: A Sinner's Prayer is set in the dark fantasy world of Asunda. Asunda was created by Stranger Comics founder and president Sebastian A. Jones over a 20 year period. A true labor of love, Asunda is unlike any other fantasy setting in existence. Developed in coordination with Stranger’s art director, anthropologist Darrell May, Asunda features an honest and oftentimes beautifully violent and savage approach to the medieval sword and sorcery genre, one where the world is exactly that... an entire world, filled with a variety of races which have evolved to suit their environment, not a decades old preconception of what elves and dwarves should be or how they should appear. If you like your fantasy with a touch of Sergio Leone, The Untamed is for you. If you think Clint Eastwood, Toshiro Mifune, or Richard Roundtree would have made bad ass elves, The Untamed is for you. If you want to see a wicked man return from the dead to choose between revenge and redemption... then The Untamed is definitely for you.

I bought this graphic novel at New York Comic Con 2015.

There was also a deal going on where if you bought The Untamed you could get the prequel, Niobe #1 Convention Exclusive, for $10 more. By the time I went they sold out of that exclusive, but there was a signing going on with artist Ashley A. Woods and author Amandla Stenberg. (Amandla played Rue in The Hunger Games and also played Macey Irving on Sleepy Hollow. She is the co-author with Sebastian Jones of the comic book Niobe: She is Life)

Book Review: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West! (@kasiewest)

P.S. I Like You
Author: Kasie West
Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Published: Point

My Rating: 

Signed, sealed, delivered…
While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!
Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

Who knew true love could be found on a desk in chemistry class? I never took chemistry in high school, but I read this book and it’s really cute.

Blog Tour: To Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne - Review! (@TastyBookTours @_LaurenLayne)

After 8 years of waiting...he's got 1 month to make her his.

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH

The Wedding Belles #3

Lauren Layne

Releasing Oct 18th, 2016

Pocket Books

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, a contemporary and witty romance series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.

Alexis Morgan has spent the past six years devoted to turning her tiny start-up into Manhattan’s premiere wedding planning company, The Wedding Belles. Now that her business is thriving, it’s time to turn towards her much neglected personal life, and Alexis approaches her relationships like she does everything else: with a plan. Not a part of that plan is Logan Harris, the silent partner in the Belles, and the one person who’s been there for her since the very beginning. But Alexis needs someone fun, and Logan’s all business, all the time—except when a late night at the office ends with an unexpected kiss that leaves the usually cool and together Alexis reeling.

Logan has lusted after Alexis since the day he walked into the tiny Harlem apartment that used to double as her office. But the ambitious wedding planner has always been untouchable...until now. Alexis has made it clear that she’s on the dating market—and equally clear that he’s not in the running. But when Alexis finds herself in need of a date for her sister’s last minute wedding in Florida, Logan knows it’s the perfect time to show Alexis that there’s more to him than numbers and spreadsheets—and beneath the pinstripes and glasses lies a hot-blooded heartthrob. As Florida’s sultry days turn into even hotter nights, Logan’s out to convince Alexis that the fling of a lifetime could just maybe turn into forever...

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Don't Miss Any of the Wedding Belles Novels

Finally we are getting to know more about the matriarch of The Wedding Belles. Not only are we seeing what is behind that icy exterior of Alexis Morgan, but we’re finding out the real story between her and the Belle’s accountant, Logan Harris. For the last two installments of Lauren’s Wedding Belle series, we’ve been given kernels to what kind of relationship these two have. If they’re messing around or is it something more. Honestly, when I found out the answers to my questions, I felt a bit underwhelmed.

I thought that by the time we got to Alexis’ solo book, I would love her. She was going to blossom into this loveable person that has just had some rough times that has hardened her over time. I was somewhat right. Alexis is not in love with love. She has been burned in the past, some would say it was the ultimate burn ever, and it has made her even more focused on the business of her dreams. I did appreciate the fact that we got some good back story on what had happened. And how the Belles truly came to be and how Alexis' and Logan's relationship/partnership started. 

Speaking of Logan, I adored him. My heart broke every time he showed Alexis some affection or tried to convey that he was more than just a friend and she ignored the signs. But when the signs couldn't be ignored any longer, it felt like everything was in the sweet spot. I think the parts I didn't like the most when Alexis fought her feelings or reverted back to her shell. It made her not likable. 

In the end, I loved their ending. It felt justified and ended how it should have. What I didn't love was the overall progression. It felt drawn out in places that didn't really need it. Even though this wasn't the best Belle book in my opinion, I appreciated it. And it doesn't take away my love for this wonderful series.

My Rating:

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

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Book Review: Land of Enchantment by Leigh Stein! (@rhymeswithbee)

Land of Enchantment
Author: Leigh Stein
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Published: Plume
Source: First to Read

My Rating:

Set against the stark and surreal landscape of New Mexico, Land of Enchantment is a coming-of-age memoir about young love, obsession, and loss, and how a person can imprint a place in your mind forever.

When Leigh Stein received a call from an unknown number in July 2011, she let it go to voice mail, assuming it would be her ex-boyfriend Jason. Instead, the call was from his brother: Jason had been killed in a motorcycle accident. He was twenty-three years old. She had seen him alive just a few weeks earlier.

Leigh first met Jason at an audition for a tragic play. He was nineteen and troubled and intensely magnetic, a dead ringer for James Dean. Leigh was twenty-two and living at home with her parents, trying to figure out what to do with her young adult life. Within months, they had fallen in love and moved to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, a place neither of them had ever been. But what was supposed to be a romantic adventure quickly turned sinister, as Jason's behavior went from playful and spontaneous to controlling and erratic, eventually escalating to violence. Now New Mexico was marked by isolation and the anxiety of how to leave a man she both loved and feared. Even once Leigh moved on to New York, throwing herself into her work, Jason and their time together haunted her.

I received this ARC from First to Read.

Ok I am going to be honest. When I started reading I had forgotten what it was about and that it was a memoir. It doesn't read like a memoir, but more like a novel.

Book Review: The Summer Games: Out of Bounds by RS Grey!

The Summer Games: Out of Bounds
Author: R.S. Grey
Publication Date: August 1, 2016
Published: CreateSpace
Source: Author

My Rating:

I despise Erik Winter.
He’s arrogant and cruel—a man I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—and by some twisted turn of fate, he’s my new Olympic gymnastics coach.
I’ve had to contend with gruff coaches in the past, but Erik is far worse. His stern demeanor complements a body built for intimidation, and his reprimands come from a mouth so cunning, I know it could strip me of my defenses—if I let it.
Though each of us would love to be rid of the other forever, we are bound to each other by need and necessity. I’m his rising star, his best shot at proving himself to his critics. And without a coach, I have zero chance of winning gold in Rio.
The easiest way forward would be to wave a white flag and make peace with the man I’ll be sharing close quarters with for the foreseeable future, but he is intent on war.
Fine. By. Me.
If he pushes me, I’ll push back harder. If he wants to test me, to play with my head, I’ll show him just how many boundaries I’m willing to cross. Because I know it’s not a choice between winning or warring—not if you can have them both. At the end of it all, I plan on leaving Rio with gold around my neck and his icy heart in the palm of my hand.

With this year being a summer Olympic year, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. The final five blowing it out of the water in Rio, and this final five doing the same. Add some romance into the mix, I felt like I had a front row seat to the action.

Blog Tour: Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker - Review & Favorite Quotes! (@amychristinepar @The_FFBC)

Smash & Grab
by Amy Christine Parker
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 19th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

My Rating:

Ocean’s Eleven meets the star-crossed lovers of West Side Story.Grab some popcorn and get ready for an adrenaline-filled heist!
LEXI is a rich girl who loves a good rush. Whether it’s motorcycle racing or BASE jumping off a building in downtown Los Angeles, the only times she feels alive are when she and her friends are executing one of their dares. After her father’s arrest, Lexi doesn’t think twice about going undercover at his bank to steal the evidence that might clear his name. She enlists her hacker brother and her daredevil friends to plan a clever heist.
CHRISTIAN is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The local gang has blackmailed him and his friends into robbing banks, and he is desperate for a way out. When the boss promises that one really big job will be the last he ever has to do, Christian jumps at the chance for freedom. In fact, he’s just met a girl at the bank who might even prove useful. . . .
Two heists. One score. The only thing standing in their way is each other.
Told in alternating points of view, this caper is full of romance and fast-paced fun. Hand to fans of Perfect Chemistry, The Conspiracy of Us, and Heist Society.

This was my first heist book. Where I was promised Ocean’s Eleven meets West Side Story, I ended up with something of a shadow of those two concepts. I didn’t hate what was given to me, but I was just left with wanting more.  

Lexi along with her brother Quinn and group of friends are adrenaline junkies. When Lexi and Quinn’s dad gets locked up for fraud, what’s the best way to relieve that stress? Base jumping off a building of course. That is until Lexi ends up running into Christian. Teenage bank robber going on his last heist before getting out of the business. So what is the logical choice? Team up together and do the ultimate rush, rob a bank.

I will say it now, I didn’t like Lexi. She felt too much to deal with as a character for me. She felt ignorant at times and there was nothing I could grab hold on to even care about her. I felt sympathy for her

I did appreciate Christian. I liked how his character felt a little more developed than Lexi. Maybe that was the influence of the Mexican mafia or his want to get out of the bank robbing business. Something about him felt more genuine. I could see the West Side Story comparisons when it came to him and Lexi.

Where the story lacked in believability, it made up in writing. The writing wasn’t bad at all. I quite liked the pace it all went through. If it wasn’t for Lexi, I would have liked this 10 times more but I didn’t hate it. The dual perspective helped a lot. Maybe I’m being greedy and just wanted more. 

"I did my best to flirt, but truth is, I always feel like a giant tool putting on the charm." - Christian

"You want me to enroll in UCLA so I can apply for this?" I ask. "That seems sort of over complicated, don't you think?" - Lexi

Follow the Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

AMY CHRISTINE PARKER writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and one ridiculously fat cat. Visit her at amychristineparker.com and follow her on Twitter @amychristinepar.

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