"Onyx" by Jennifer L. Armentrout

What can I say? I am in love with this series, and with Daemon. Duh!
Honestly, I like the Lux series more than the Covenant... Greek mythology somehow can't capture my attention all that much. But aliens??? Heck yeah!

So, in this installment, we get to see a lot more of the good side of Deamon. I mean, he has his jerk-o moments, and I love him for those too! But also, there are those sweet moments, when I just wanted to kiss him senseless. Or be kissed senseless, doesn't matter. Not really. LOL

Anyway, Onyx is the turning point of this series, I think. So many things happen, so many fates are changed, that the reader is about to explode! Even though I'd known what was to happen, sort of, I was totally surprised by HOW it happened and WHY. I was left with my mouth hanging open for more when I finished the last page, and gosh! I just couldn't handle to wait and got into Opal right away. Addictive much?

Definito!

At first, I can't say I liked Katy much. I mean, she insisted she trusted Daemon, but did all the things he told her not to. Sure, she didn't want to be bossed around, but hello! It never occured to her that all those suspicious things she noticed, might be actually a warning she should heed! Grrr!!! Poor Daemon, and Dee, and even Ash and Andrew!

Blake was sort of a likeable character at first. But then he started doing tricks to Katy (which she totally ignored as legit signs that he wasn't totally honest) and I could hardly stand him! But dang! I don't think Blake was guilty of what happened. He was sort of pushed to the edge. I believe all the events fall on Katy. *sigh* Why is it always the girl who should bear the guilt on her shoulders is beyond me.

Well, in my opinion, Onyx couldn't be written any better. I enjoyed every bit of it. So... if you haven't yet read it, go do that now.

My rating is

"Because of Low" by Abbi Glines

I loved Breathe so much, that I just went on and started on Because of Low right away. Guess what? I finished it in less than a day! It was an amazing book! Loved it! And it reminded me so much of Beautiful Disaster that I went on and re-read that too. Weired, huh?

Anyway, I was stricken by Low's story. I mean... Marcus's story is pretty common... a cheating father leaves his family for a younger woman. But Low's story... geezh! What kind of person should you be to leave your own sister on the street with just a suitcase in hand?

I was impressed by Low. She was so utterly strong, even in her weakest, darkest moments. Even when her heart was breaking and she was barely living. She was just this pillar of inner strength. Of course, without Cage she might not have survived to be who she was in the first place, but hey, even a pillar needs a foundation, no?

So, this story was obvious to me from the middle on, but that didn't make me enjoy it any less. The only thing that I didn't like about it, was Marcus's bossy tone. He was constantly bossing Low around. "You won't sleep there." "You won't wear this." "You can't do that." Gee! Who on earth did he think he was? He was definitely not the sweet guy we met in Breathe. Here he's got his own character, his own personality, his own brutal life that makes him behave like a total butt. If I were Low, I'd definitely find a way to kick him somewhere where it would hurt. And then I'd kiss him senseless, but that's beyond the point.

In conclusion, I recommend you read this book, but keep in mind that it is not Young Adult. It's New Adult and has some scenes that I think are inappropriate for younger readers.

My rating is

"Breathe" by Abbi Glines

Breathe was a very quick, interesting read. It got me breezing through the pages, following the story of teenage girl Sadie (who is the grown-up in the family) and Jax (who is a teen rock star). I loved the reality of the story, even though there were some parts that sounded way too fixed to be real.

The way Sadie and Jax's relationship developed was really nice, though at times Jax sounded so bossy I wanted to smack him in the face. And by the end of the book, the relationship between the two had gotten so much like an addiction, neither one could live without the other. I don't know if that's actually healthy, to tell you the truth. There must be passion and love and all that, but not being able to live without the other... seriously?

Yet, I loved how they told each other that they were one another's air. It was so romantic, it made me gag of all the sugar LOL

It's definitely a good story though. It's a story of growth and maturity (or pre-maturity in Sadie's case). It's a story of family problems and the fear to grow up (in Jessica, Sadie's mom's case). It's a story where everyone learns that life isn't easy if you shell up and try to live it by yourself. Friends and family are the people who make life interesting, who help in difficult situations, who will never give up on you no matter what.

I recommend the book to any reader age teen or above.


My rating is

"Covet" by Melissa Darnell

NOTE: I received this book from Netgalley.

Okay, so I thought that I wouldn't be able to understand whatever happened in the book because I haven't read the prequel. Well, I must say that the author made a pretty good (and sometimes even too much) of a reference to the first book, that I felt like I'd already read it. Still, there were lots of times when I felt like I was missing in on the development of the characters' relationship. I mean, I started off with them already being together and all, and I really love the whole process of the "getting together". In that aspect, I believe one should ALWAYS start a series from book one. Duh.

Anyways, I think that the book was okay on average. It couldn've definitely be shorter. There were large ranges of pages where nothing interesting happened. There was just a constant droning from the POV characters, and that got me irritated and bored. I was flipping through those pages pretty quick, only skimming to see if I had missed anything important. Which I had not.

The rest of it was good. Not I-can't-tear-my-eyes-off-the-page good, but still good enough to finish the book. I honestly wish that it was 250 pages instead of 400+, but hey, who am I to say how long a book should be?

Umm, the characters... I honestly believe that both Savannah and Tristan can be improved. Sometimes their dialogues sounded pretty lame and incoherent, or inconsequential. The way they spoke to each other and the rest of the characters didn't seem realistic for teenagers. I wasn't particularly impressed with either of them. Savannah's dad sounded like he had only lived in the past. Sure, he was a centuries old vamp, but hey, don't those creatures adapt to the present times? Won't they attract too much attention if they speak like they're from Shakespeare's age?

Perhaps I'm a bit biased because this is a vamp book and I'm not really into those. But even a non-fan can realize when a book is brilliant and when it's just average. In my opinion, Covet was a pretty average book.


My rating is

"The Lost Son" by Tamra Torero

I received this book from Netgalley to review.

Wow! What a nice, quick and completely engulfing read!!! The Lost Son is a story about forgiveness, about growing up and second chances. And in the wake of Christmas, it's definitely a notable read.

There were times when I laughed heartily, and times when I felt sad, because the story just felt so extremely realistic. I need to say that the characters made this story what it was - unforgetable.

*Jacob - the main character, whose POV we're plunged into from the very first page. Let me tell you, I didn't like a single thing about him in that first chapter. I was even disgusted by his behavior. He acted like this super player, who could have any girl, at any time, with no consequences. Well guess what, Jake - things don't happen that way! So, when he got his butt kicked, I was very very happy. I mean, he seriously deserved it. And then that accident happened and he was sent out to help out Sam and gosh! Jacob changed! I mean, he really truly GREW UP! All that he was in those first pages, slowly melted away as he figured out how wrong he'd been to behave like that. How much he'd actually missed on real life and love and all the beauty around him. To be honest, I was in love with him by the final page, and he deserved it.

*Corrine - oh, man! She was the bad ass chick who could throw a killer punch. She earned my respect through and through. There was that moment when I thought she was being waaay too cool-hearted, but hey, I can't really blame her. After all she went through because of Jacob... well... she had the right to be even more so.

*Sam - well, what can I say? He was an amazing person. Sure, he'd had his share of mistakes and such, but the point is in asking for forgiveness and seeing the second chance when it's been given to you. He was very brave and had such a huge heart! I wanted to go and hug him myself.

In conclusion all I can say is that I loved this book, and I'm going to re-read it the first chance I get.

My rating for The Lost Son is