Review: Undaunted by Ronnie Douglas

Undaunted
My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: October 2015

Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Paperback, 352 pages


Summary From Goodreads:
Being fearless has never looked so good . . .

Aubrey Evans needs to get her life back on track after her father is indicted for embezzlement. All she has to do to hightail it out of small-town Tennessee is save up money for college tuition and steer clear of hard-muscled boys on motorcycles. Yet there's no ignoring someone like Zion. A knight in black leather, Zion looks like every bad idea she's been told to avoid, but she can't resist him. Whenever she's in trouble, he's there. Appealing as his rough exterior may be, it's the protective, principled man beneath who tempts her like crazy.

Zion knows Aubrey doesn't intend to stick around. She claims to want only friendship, but he senses there's a naughty girl hiding on the inside—one whose intense desires match his own. For now, he'll be patient and play by her rules. But he knows it's just a matter of time before he weakens her resolve.

As they join forces to figure out who's behind a local crime spree, it's clear that the danger goes deeper than Aubrey guessed. And when she needs someone tall, dark, and undaunted to keep her safe, Zion intends to be there—now and always.  

My Review: 
I Generally try to stay away from books labeled as NA because, well, let's face it... They tend to be just as raunchy as some of the adult romances out there and I am just not at all into that kind of thing. But I picked this book up anyway, and found out that I actually liked it. 

What first drew me to this book was the gorgeous cover, and then as I was reading the the summary for it, I was just like, okay, I HAVE to read this book no matter what. And then I find out that Ronnie Douglas and Melissa Marr are the same person, and it just completely made sense all of a sudden. {I looooooove Melissa Marr's books}

I've never read any books about bikers, so I thought this was a pretty neat idea. I liked Aubrey for the most part, but sometimes I got irritated with her one track mind. I was just like: HEY! Stop for a second and be thankful for what you still have instead of thinking about what you lost.

I liked the bikers, and how they are these big tough guys, but they'll look out for the people who are important to them. I definitely can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Review: A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter

My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: October 2015

Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Hardcover, 448 Pages



Summary From Goodreads:

The battle rages on. 

Ali Bell and Cole Holland's crew of zombie slayers thought they'd won the war against Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker. 

On the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from beyond—Kat's spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat's death. 

But when Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road to redemption isn't through revenge, but in letting go of the past and grabbing hold of the future.


My Review:

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

I was totally and completely broken hearted when I read The Queen of Zombie Hearts. The ending, while ultimately a happy one, had me crying big, fat, ugly tears at the unfairness of the whole situation. My heart hurt for Frosty and I was hoping that he would get a story of his own so that he could get a chance at Happily Ever After. So when I heard that Gena was going to write another book, you can imagine how elated I was.

With that being said, it did end up taking me a bit to actually get into the book. I guess even though I wanted Frosty's story, I wasn't quite ready to have someone other than Ali narrate it. I spent three books seeing things through her perspective, so it took a bit of time to adjust to the change.

I  stuck with it though, and I am glad that I did. True to the other White Rabbit books, there was a lot of kick butt action, and, yes, romance. We get to learn a whole bunch of stuff about Frosty {like his real name!} I always liked Frosty, because he was always so freaking hilarious, but in this book, he's hurting. He's more than hurting, he's broken. He's lost the girl that he's loved forever, and he blames himself. It was awesome getting to see him get closure and heal and move on with his life.

I loved Milla. I mean, I had mixed feelings at first, but once she was introduced and you get to see her perspective on things, I couldn't help but admire her. She always took things in stride, and was pretty good at not letting people know just how much things hurt her. Calm, cool and collected, that one is. And I think that's what I like most about Gena's female characters in this series. They're always so confident, and they're not afraid to say what they're thinking.

This book just goes to show that your friends will sometimes do things that are bad, because they think it's what's best for you, and that you can't always assume the worst about a person, especially if you don't know their background.

I loved the ending. All the little extra details about all the hunters, and where they are in life "Now". It was like the story was all wrapped up with a neat little bow, and that's pretty fantastic...

One of my {many} favorite Quotes from this book:  "I don't lie. Ever. I don't need to, because I don't care if I hurt anyone's feelings. The truth is the truth, forever unchanging, and it's better than a lie any day of the week." -Frosty

Swoon-Worthy {Fictional} Guys From A-Z {N}

My Swoony Pick for the letter "N" is...

Noah Shaw

From The Mara Dyer Series

By Michelle Hodkin 

Why? 

He's got an accent...Oh lordy, I do so love a boy with an accent.

Despite his reputation, and his endless innuendos, he's actually extremely sweet and caring.

And patient

And oh so very charming

He loves animals

Ugh, he's just so amazing...

Quotes

"The people we care about are always worth more to us than the people we don't. NO matter what anyone pretends."

“If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.”

“You want me as much as I want you. And all I want is you."

My tongue warred with my mind. "Today," I whispered.
Noah stood slowly, his body skimming mine as he rose. "Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever.”

“You're the girl who called me an asshole the first time we spoke. The girl who tried to pay for lunch even after you learned I have more money than God. You're the girl who risked her ass to save a dying dog, who makes my chest ache whether you're wearing green silk or ripped jeans. You're the girl that I--" Noah stopped, then took a step closer to me. "You are my girl.”

"You can't hurt me the way you think you can. But even if you could? I would rather die with the taste of you on my tongue than live and never touch you again. I'm in love with you, Mara. I love you. No matter what you do.”

“I knew Noah worshiped Charlie Parker and that his toothbrush was green. That he wouldn't bother to button his shirts correctly but always made his bed. That when he slept he curled into himself and that his eyes were the color of the clouds before it rained, and I knew he had no problem eating meat but would subtly leave the room if animals started to kill one another on the Discovery Channel. I knew one hundred little things about Noah Shaw but when he kissed me I couldn't remember my own name.” 

“This was the boy I loved. A little bit messy. A little bit ruined. A beautiful disaster. Just like me."

 

Review: Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: September 2015



Publication Date:  August 25, 2015
Hardback, 336 Pages



Summary from Goodreads:

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…



My Review:

I loved this book. Seriously. I was having a massive case of Reader's Block, but once I started this book, I could not put it down.  I thought that the whole idea was interesting. I mean, if I were in Maggie's position, I probably would have done the same thing. Sometimes, being silent really does help you to cope. Sometime. Not always. And I do agree that at some point, you actually do have to talk about whatever it is that you're avoiding. Otherwise, you'll never completely heal

I really liked Maggie's character. She was so strong and steady for the most part, and I really enjoyed getting to see her grow up and learn that it's okay to talk to someone when you are hurting, and to not let people push her around.

I had a love/hate relationship with West. On one hand he's this really cute guy, who means well, and has a lot of... crap that he's trying to deal with. On the other hand, he hooks up with random girls for no reason just because he can, and he's like, super possessive of Maggie, even before they start dating... And then when they do, you better watch out. Don't talk to Maggie if you're a guy or you'll have heck to pay. That was just really kind of annoying. But Maggie was pretty good about setting him straight.

I haven't read any of the other books by Abbi Glines, but I might give them a shot after reading this one. I definitely can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Swoon-Worthy {Fictional} Guys From A-Z {M}

My Swoony Pick for the letter "M" is...

Michael Glass

From Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

WHY?

 

He plays the guitar. *SWOON*

 

He's always super flirty with Claire but his heart belongs to Eve, and no one can change his mind.

 

He is very kind and patient with everyone, but he can also turn into this fierce protector if his friends are being threatened.

 

He is very charming, and polite {for the most part} he usually has no trouble putting people at ease.

 

 

Some of my Favorite Michael Quotes:

 

“Michael!” Oliver’s voice came faint through the front door. “Something you should see, my boy! Look out your windows!”
“Trap,” Shane said instantly, and reached out to grab Michael’s arm as he walked by. “Don’t, man.”
“What’s he going to do? Make faces at me?”  

Claire: "So we do nothing?"
Michael: "We do the best nothing you've ever seen.” 

 

Michael rose to his feet and padded down the last few steps silently, came up behind Kim, and leaned over her to say, “I vant to drink your blood” in a heavy, fake-Dracula accent. She shrieked, flailed, and a zombie ate her brains on-screen."You sabotaged me!” Kim yelled, dropped the controller, and smacked him hard on the chest. “I can’t believe you just totally sabotaged me!”

"Can’t let him lose,” Michael said, as Shane hit the high score and the victory music sounded. “Gotta live with the dude.”They high-fived."You’re seriously going to take that as a win,” Kim said. “When he totally cheated for you.”Yes,” Shane said. “I seriously am.”  

“You okay?"
"Fine."
"Your heart's beating really fast."
"Gee, thanks. That's very comforting that you can hear it."
He smiled, and it was the old Michael, the one she'd first met before all the vamp stuff.
"Yeah, I know it is. Sorry. Just stay behind me if there's trouble."
"You sound like Shane."
"Well, he did say he'd kill me if I got you hurt. I'm just looking after my own neck."
"Liar.”

 

 

"You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?"
Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the bandage. "Man, you would be so embarrassed if I said it was something else." Michael looked blank. "I'm a girl, Michael, it could have been all natural, you know. Tampons?”

 

“I’m a vampire. I have secret powers ,” he said with a full-on fake Transylvanian accent, which he dropped to say, “Actually, your mom let me in.”  

Books to Read Around Halloween {Part 2}

So I did a Top 10 Tuesday post 4 years ago on books that would be good to read around Halloween and I was just thinking about how many other fantastic books that I have read since then that would completely fit that topic. So here are 12 more awesome books to read to get in the Halloweeny spirit.

{If you would like to check out my original post, click right HERE}






1. Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Oh my golly goodness, this is one of my favorite books of the whole year {I first made that declaration back in March, and it still holds true today} It's about a group of kids who track and trap ghosts using the flash from a specially modified camera. It's pretty epic. Not to mention the fact that Micheline's love interest in the book has a sexylicious Australian accent that makes everything better...

2. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Okay, this one isn't on the scary side, but is has uber attractive alien boys in it.















3. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Zombies. Or "Differently Biotic" or "Living Impaired" whatever you decide to call them this book is seriously cool. Again, not too much on the scary side, but it has zombies none the less.

4. My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

I really loved this book. It has Bean Sidhes and the Grim Reaper, and Demon's, and a whole bunch of other supernatural beings. It's definitely worth a read.

5. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

This one definitely had a kind of creepy feel to it.  Vi can sense the presence of people who have been murdered. She can feel their "echoes" and the imprints that attach to whoever the culprit it. She ends up getting herself into some pretty scary predicaments.

6. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

I don't think that I really even need to elaborate on this one... The name says it all, don't you think?
















7. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Well if that creeptastic cover doesn't attract you to the book, I don't know what will, other than the fact that this story is about changelings...
















8. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

More Zombies, although they aren't your average zombies either. But they are more creepy and dangerous than the Differently Biotic.

9. Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Now this one has quite a fantastic spookiness factor. Especially if you read it all alone in the middle of the night when it's rainy/windy... It was suggested to me because I was a fan of Supernatural, and I loved it.


















10. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Here's another fantastic book. It's like Nancy Drew with a supernatural twist.
















11. White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L Armentrout

Another JLA book? Heck yes. Her books are that awesome. This one has demons and gargoyles in it. So yeah,.. check it out.

12. The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

And yes, another one by Rachel Vincent, too. This book is just as good as all of her Soul Screamer books, but this one has Exorcists in it {and one in particular has gorgeous green eyes...}