Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay (Juliet Immortal #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: October 9th 2012
POV: Alternating - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Seductive companion to the popular Juliet Immortal, in which former lovers—Romeo and Juliet—meet, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

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This book was amazing! It made my heart leap! I really enjoyed Juliet Immortal, but one of my favourite things about it was Romeo, even though he was the villain in the first book. He was clearly a tortured soul, and they make the absolute best love interests! So I knew I would enjoy this one even more, and I did.

At first Romeo's assignment was just to make Ariel believe in love. It didnt matter whether or not he loved her in return. It had an alternating POV between Romeo and Ariel, and whenever it was on an Ariel chapter, I would forget he was faking it, and I would totally be swooning along with Ariel. Oh.My.Gosh! This guy knows how to woo! Then it would switch back and I would remember he was faking it, but only in the beginning. He had serious feelings for her fairly early on, but it took forever for him to realize it. He was always like, "It's been so long, I dont remember, is this what love feels like?" It was so sweet to watch him falling in love without realizing it, but his wooing is still my favourite part. Jeez, this guy is like magic! No wonder his name is synonymous with romance. And once his love becomes real, it only gets better!

“My chest aches, but not with fear or sadness. With hope. With love. I love her. I love her, and it is better than anything else I can remember. "You found me.” 

I mostly really liked Ariel too. She was a very broken girl who really needed to be loved. But the Ambassadors were right about her potential for evil, and needing to win her over to good before it was too late. I hated seeing how easily she turned against Romeo. If their love was so amazing she should not have doubted him. She should have stayed true to Romeo! But luckily, Romeo remains awesome, and loves her and forgives her and that is what she really needed to permanently banish the darkness from her soul. And they live happily ever after.

“She is so beautiful. Perfect. Mine.No. Not mine. I am hers.”

Sever by Lauren DeStefano (The Chemical Garden #3)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance
Publication Date: February 12th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: Did Not Finish

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With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

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I enjoyed Wither enough to keep going with the series. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but I was curious about Rhine and Gabriel's fate. So I read Fever and enjoyed it more. There was little or no Linden, several locales, and much more romance developed between Rhine and Gabriel and it was totally adorable. It had so much more progress in Rhine's life overall, compared to Wither, which was stagnant in comparison. Of course it was all undone with one move by Vaughn in the end. But with only one book left in the series, and with so much left to accomplished, I figured Sever would be full of excitement. But 100 pages in and I still have to suffer through Linden's presence, and there is still no sign of Gabriel, and no sign that Rhine will be going after him or Rowan any time soon. I hate how the book portrays Linden as a sympathetic character. In the first book he was portrayed as kind, although he impregnated a 13 year-old. Its a contradiction but I figured it didn't matter, because I figured he didn't matter. But 2 books later and Rhine's world still seems to revolve around Linden. His role in the series isn't what I thought it would be. He completely disgusts me and I couldn't take it anymore. What finally tipped me over the edge was this line:

"I don't know that I could ever love [Gabriel] the way that Linden and Cecily are in love, or the way Linden and Rose were."

WTF?! You think impregnating a barely pubescent girl twice in quick succession, causing her to nearly die is love? You think his love for two girls within a year could grow stronger than you could love Gabriel in a lifetime? Gabriel who is actually worthy? If Linden had actually loved Rose or Cecily his relationship with his other wives would have seemed wrong to him. He had absolutely no sense of fidelity. If he didn't love them, then I understand it may not have occurred to him that what he was doing was wrong, because that's just how the world is now. But if he loved Cecily, he would not have been making any attempt to reconcile with Rhine. So if Rhine cant love Gabriel as much as Linden can love, than the fault is solely hers. She is defective and doesn't know the meaning of love. So I closed the book. I'm done.

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #3)

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Romance
Publication Date: March 19th 2013
POV: Alternating - Third-person, Past tense

My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Tessa Gray should be happy—aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

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I find it hard to believe that I am actually rating something by Cassandra Clare so high, but I absolutely loved this. I much, much preferred the overall story of TID over TMI. But I was still prevented from really loving the first two books in this series because of how much I despise Will's character, and nearly every scene that involved him. So it is just a star away from being perfect.

Although the book was long, the story did not drag at all. It was packed full of action and adventure and danger and heroics and revelations. It was almost too much to bare. I found myself sometimes wishing it would end if only to end the strain on my heart. The emotion in this book was overwhelming. I always thought that Tiger's Destiny was the most emotional YA book I had ever read. But this has easily taken the cake. It has gone above and beyond, and that is both a good and a bad thing. In Tiger's Destiny, Kelsey was engaged to Kishan, even though she was obviously more in love with his brother, Ren. I was absolutely in love with Kishan, and it broke my heart to see how Kelsey betrayed him in her heart. I greatly, greatly appreciate that Clare did not do the same thing to Jem. Tessa loved Jem. She loved him as he deserved, as Kelsey could never have loved Kishan. But Tessa's love for Jem only makes it all the harder for me to understand how there could be any room left in her heart for Will. It defies nature, as she seemed to be aware. The only explanation is that they were parabatai, but that seems to be a weak explanation to me. It makes me sad and uncomfortable. I guess you just have to accept it as a natural phenomenon, or a paradox. I still appreciate that Clare tried, harder than most authors, not to break anyone's heart, characters and fans alike. But then again, it is rare that there are characters as loved as Will and Jem. There are very few instances of fans becoming so invested in a love-triangle, where both sides are loved almost equally.

I personally never saw the connection between Will and Tessa, throughout the whole series. I never really understood Will until this book. His personality annoyed me. Even in Prince, when we already  knew of the curse, he still annoyed me. The way he never took anything seriously. But I felt a lot of sympathy for him in this one. Regardless of my personal feelings for him, he was in a lot of pain that he didnt deserve, and he clearly loved Tessa so much. But I still didn't believe he belonged with her. And her love for him didnt seem real. She had an amazing connection with Jem, and whenever she thought of Will she thought, "Oh, his blue eyes and beautiful face." Those are not reasons to love someone. It couldn't compare to her feelings for Jem in my eyes. I never really believed that she loved him until Cadair Idris, when she said that he was like her."You say the things I think but never say out loud." It was an extremely touching scene, and the first time I had any sort of positive feelings for Will. But then he had to go and ruin it right after. Will doesnt seem to know the meaning of the word Kiss. He didnt know that she had been in love with him for a long time. For all he knew, she was distraught, and mourning Jem, and only looking for comfort, or distraction. He took advantage of her weakened state. I can't believe how little he questioned her first. She didn't regret it because she knew her own feelings for him had always been the same, regardless of Jem. But Will did not know that, and I can't believe what he did. In most YAs, the guy is usually like, "Are you sure? We can wait. It should be perfect. Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure?" And then, only then. But Will? He hears, "Kiss me," and then BAM. Sex. Dude, a little restraint?

When Jem said good-bye to Tessa and Will as Brother Zachariah, I cried so much. I was sobbing and gasping. It really broke my heart, even though I knew he would be back, it was still so sad. He belonged with them so much. But after he was gone, Tessa and Will got together way too quickly. When Jem and Tessa got engaged, people thought they were too young. But they knew Jem was dying so they tried to be understanding. When Will and Tessa got engaged, they were still only 17 so it must not have been long after Jem left, no more than a month or two, and no one comments about them being too young. Tessa and Jem had an excuse. Tessa and Will do not. Plus, Tessa should still be mourning Jem. But no one comments about the oddness of their swift engagement. I found it so disrespectful. Even though Jem gave them his blessing, they had no shame, no restraint. As if the fact that they both loved Jem gave them the right to do whatever they wanted with each other, completely heedless of Jem's loss that led to their gain. Do I sound bitter? I am bitter.

Tessa should have been with Jem and only Jem, but if she was to be with both of them, it is better that Jem be the last rather than the first. And desptie what Will and Tessa did, Jem is the one that is with her in the end. And she still loved him, 130 years later, still wearing his pendant. I know she would likely have done the same for Will. If she had been with Jem first, and had to wait 130 years to be with Will, she would have still loved him then. But I don't have to think about that anymore, because Will is dead. And Jem is back. Thats all the matters now. That they are together again. But I don't know whether Tess will want to have more children, and watch them die before her. So maybe Will will still have more from life than Jem will ever have. I just hope that he is still immortal. *looks skyward* Gosh, do I ever hope that he is still immortal. Oh, and I fell in love with Magnus a little bit in this book. :P

“There are so many worse things than death. Not to be loved or not to be able to love: that is worse.”

Astarte's Wrath by Trisha Wolfe (Kythan Guardians #1)

Genres: New Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal/Mythology, Romance
Smut-O-Meter: 5 out of 10
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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A tragic love story.

Two thousand years before Dez Harkly developed her secret powers, Guardian Astarte was vowed to protect by the binds enslaving her to the Egyptian pharaohs. Discover the prophecy that originated from a very different time, and spans generations to link two very different girls.

This is the beginning.

Set against the backdrop of the Battle of Actium, in the city of Alexandria, Star struggles with her guardian duties as her feelings for the newly named pharaoh of Egypt grow deeper. Not only is Caesarion her duty, he’s the son of Cleopatra, and he’s human. All of which makes their love forbidden.

But when a conspiracy linked to Caesar creeps into Alexandria, Star must choose between helping her fellow Kythan free themselves of their servitude, and protecting her charge—the last pharaoh—while Egypt burns around her.

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This book did a great job of introducing the history in Destiny's Fire, and even setting up for the future of the series. But it is still its own amazing story. The two novels dont depend upon each other and you can read one or the other on its own. But I would definitely recommend reading them both because they are amazing. I still slightly prefer Destiny's Fire because it is more my speed. I prefer the fun, fast-pace and the feel of YA romance. Also, Reese is more my type of guy. Astarte's Wrath was darker and felt more like a New Adult. I thought the characters were older and it wasnt until I was finished the book that I looked up how old Caesarion was during the events of the book, and he was 17. Something about the characters and the story made them seem older. I knew they were young, but I was thinking more like 19. Despite their young age and the mild sexual content, I am still listing this as NA.

"Hearing him refer to me as his intended opens my heart like the sea opens to the sky, and I am his."

I have always loved history, and when I was younger I was fascinated by Egypt. I never studied it because I was just a kid, but I had Egypt themed bed sheets and little Egyptian figurines and posters. So I really, really enjoyed the setting and I really appreciate all the work Trisha Wolfe put into making this accurate. It really felt authentic and it made it so much easier to just disappear into the story. And the added fantasy elements just made it all the more amazing. I loved the world of the Kythan from Destiny's Fire, and I am even more familiar with it now and its just awesome. Although I feel like I should reread Destiny's Fire because it seems I dont remember it as well as I thought I did.

"Xarion's chest heaves. His bloodied face looks more beautiful than I've ever seen it."

The writing is top-notch and totally captivating, and the story has everything. So much intense action and violence, magic and mythology, romance and heartbreak, and great characters. Star was totally kick-ass! Caesarion was strong and sweet, and Phoenix was funny and loyal. I loved them all! Although I prefer Reese over Caesarion, I think I prefer Star over Dez.

And the ending was sort of perfect. I can think of ways I would have preferred for it to end, but the ending managed to evoke just the right combination of emotions for it to shake me without leaving me broken. I cried twice, but it was still sort ofan HEA. You will just have to read it for yourself to find out. You wont regret it. And I cannot say enough things about how gorgeous the cover is. I absolutely love it! I don't know if the girl is a model or a drawing, but she is freaking gorgeous! Her hair is perfect and shiny, and her lips and her eyes, and the interesting necklace, balanced with the Egyptian background. Love it!

"You're home," he says, his voice stirring all my love. 

"You're my home." 

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: February 5th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

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This series is shifting focus from the dystopian aspects, the Reestablishment, to the romance. There really wasn't that much of a story in this and I didn't even notice. The characters are the best thing about this series anyways.

We got to understand Juliette, and Adam, and Warner, Kenji, and Anderson, and even James better in this book. I was really unimpressed by Adam in this book. He has become the love interest who is there just to be a love interest, and really has no place in the story. He may later, due to the revelation we found out about him in this book. It may become more of an issue in book 3. But besides that, he was just there to confuse Juliette and make her feel guilty, and, I suppose, to push her towards Warner. I honestly think the fact that she managed to forget him for most of chapter 62 is a point against him. Juliette felt guilty afterwards, but she has no reason to. If she already moved on without having even noticed, then really, what is there left keeping her attached to Adam? But she still has feelings for him, however inexplicable.

 

I feel like I know Warner even better now. Even better than I did after Destroy Me. Destroy Me told us more about his past and his immediate present. About what he thought, how he went about his day, and how he felt about Juliette. But Unravel Me really revealed him as a character, who he was, what he wanted. Every conversation he had with Juliette revealed more about him. About his dreams for the future. And I honestly feel like he and Juliette have far more of a connection than Juliette and Adam. And I am not just saying that because I am biased-ly in love with Warner. As much as I love Jem, I think Tessa would be better off with Will. I don't think she deserves Jem anyways. But I can see the way that Juliette and Warner understand each other. The way they make each other stronger, just like his fatherly mockingly said.

Although I still have some reservation about Warner's intentions. Would he still end up trying to use Juliette as a weapon? What would he do in terms of a war against the Reestablishment? I don't think Juliette is a monster, but she undeniably has a certain propensity for violence. I don't know if it is because of her gift, or if she would have been that way anyways. But not everyone would naturally think to try to break the earth when they get angry. Not everyone would think to shoot their enemy in all their limbs before killing them. Juliette and Warner would have to be willing to accept each other before having any sort of successful relationship. If Warner ever pushed her too hard in the wrong direction, I think she could become the monster she fears.

I cannot wait to find out what Juliette will do next. In the end of the book she was angry, and wanting to protect everyone she cared about. Does that mean she will run back to Omega Point? Or will she stay with Warner, try to take down his father together? This is a series that I know will continue to surprise and impress me.

"I want to be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with."