Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Raised by Wolves
(Raised by Wolves Book #1)
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Genre: Young Adult | Paranormal Romance

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Bryn doesn't exactly feel like she fits in at school as well as at home. She's part of the wolf pack, but many members won't even willingly accept her if not for the Alpha's protection. She's an orphan with a dark past and knows something is up since new laws have been put into place for her to get home at dusk and many more rules shes unwilling to follow. When a new discovery of pack secrets is revealed, Bryn must go against her "human" instincts and fully accept the pack lifestyle, accepting the good with the bad. Yet, can Bryn willingly change for the better when even more secrets from the past become known?

I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of this tale, but the end kind of fizzled out for me. It was fresh, very intriguing, and written in a manner that was quite easy to follow, but the plot turns at the end had me wishing for something different. It's not that it wasn't a nice ending, just not as satisfying as I would have personally liked and it was a little sad. Bryn's relationship with the different characters was what interested me the most. She acted differently with everyone and that kept the story spicy and from becoming too slow to enjoy.

I would have liked a better conclusion (maybe even an epilogue?) to this story and perhaps I'm unaware of a series that will soon follow, but I felt many of the side characters had their tale unjustly cut short and I would have enjoyed to learn more about them and where they were headed. Oh, just found out : TRIAL BY FIRE (the Raised By Wolves sequel) okay, that makes my reading taste much happier to know there is more coming overall.

Likes: I enjoyed the concept behind the story and am excited to read more into that world in Book #2.

Dislikes: I want to know more about Bryn and her ability, much was left out and I know there is more of the story to come soon, but what was lacking had me scratching my head in confusion.

Rating:

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Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband
(Daughters of the Glen Series Book #1)
by Melissa Mayhue

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Historical | Time-Travel

In the misty recesses of time a Faerie Prince loses his true love, prompting a blessing on all his mortal female descendants, bestowing his powers on them that they should be protected and allowed to find their own true loves.

CONNOR MACKIERNAN is a 13th century Scottish warrior, a descendent of that Faerie prince, a man who lives only for honor and duty, but he has a huge problem. His experience of betrayal at the hands of women has left him suspicious and distrustful of any woman's motives. He's sworn never to marry, but finds he must do exactly that to save his sister. With the help of his well-meaning aunt, and a little Faerie magic, the search for a bride is on.

CAITLYN CORYELL is a 21st century woman who longs to be strong enough to find love without sacrificing who she is. Her experience with an unfaithful fiance who wanted to marry her only for her family's money and influence has left her doubting her desirability and any man's reason for wanting her. Imagine her surprise when she puts on an antique pendant and Connor appears in her bedroom, begging her help to save his sister. He offers a simple adventure: travel to his time, marry him and return home. But nothing's simple when the adventure backfires, trapping Cate in the 13th Century.

An ancient Faerie's blessing reaches across the barriers of time to unite two emotionally wounded people. But it will take more than the magic of the Fae to heal their hearts. It will require the most powerful magic of all - the magic of true love.

Caitlyn (aka Cate) is torn, she's days away from her own wedding and she innocently discovers her fiance, Richard, having an affair with his secretary but she's never been one of those women who could end things so easily. Thus, she's weak in her decision about cutting ties and on that same night, a tartan-wearing warrior, Connor, walks through her bedroom mirror. Thinking she's drunk on whiskey and imagining marital related things, Cate accepts this Highlanders proposition of marriage and finds herself in 1272 Scotland with a wedding soon approaching. Yet, as realization sinks in, threats on her life become quite frequent, and romance beginning to bloom, Cate must make some tough chooses about "true" love and the sacrifices one must make in order to get it.

I'm a sucker for time-travels and this one was an easy fun read. A little silly at certain parts, but none the less entertaining. You can't take the story too seriously though since some of the plot concepts just seemed rather oddly unrealistic (even for a time-travel tale), but overall it's a good 'curl-up-on-the-couch' Sunday book. I enjoyed Connor the most. He's unbashful about marriage, daring in his actions, and accepting of all Cate's futuristic quirks. I'm eager to read more into the series to catch further glimpses of him and his family/friend.

Likes: Mairi was a fun and vibrant part of the story that spiced up Cate's character. I enjoyed their little escapes from the castle together to spy on Connor.

Dislikes: Cate came off as a confusing character to me, at times she would display a strong manner with great tact by working within her families international business, but she wasn't very resilient in her attitude toward Richard. It's like her "time-travel experience" was the only pivotal moment in her life that made her actually change for the good and because of that, she just appeared as a weak women to me in her thoughts and actions for most of the story.

Rating:

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Happy Mardi Gras Everyone !!

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The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones
(Eternal Series Book #1)
by Kirsten Miller

Genre : Young Adult | Paranormal Romance

Haven Moore is a high school senior who has had visions of previous lives since she was a small child. Her strict, religious grandmother and guardian insists that she is possessed by demons. Haven believes she is being driven to find the current reincarnation of her true love.

The teen is a fine seamstress and has saved $12,000 making prom dresses with her gay friend, Beau. As her small-town world closes in around her, she decides to make a run for it to New York City, where she has seen the love of her lives come back in the tabloids because he has been accused of murder. This novel is a mystery, a thriller, and a love story. There is also a touch of the occult via the Ouroboros Society, an organization that purports to gather members from the reincarnated of the world. The element of mystery is consistently sustained from the beginning as Haven tries to determine if the man she loves is trying to kill her.

Ever since Haven Moore was 9 years old, she's been having flashbacks of realistic events that haven't happened yet. As a child, she would always mention of having "another mother", talk about her "other big self" and other unnatural things for someone so young to even know about. Thus, she was shunned early on by the students at school, thought cursed by her church, and practically kept prisoner by her strict grandmother/caretaker. Luckily, she had a best friend, Beau Decker, who kept her sane while memories of a past love, Ethan, kept her dreaming of something better in life. Eventually, research on her visions led to actual historical facts which convinced Haven that she was the reincarnation of a girl named Constance from the 1920s. She also discovered her "Ethan" was reincarnated as well as Ian Marrow, a New York rich society boy whose face is across all the gossip tabloids. Yet, as things begin to heat up in her home town in Tennessee, Haven escapes to try to figure out what all her visions means and just who she really is.

This was a refreshing read, something paranormally different from most of what is out there. Past lives that are reincarnated over and over again so that they may finally be together, a true love that doesn't end . . . utterly romantic and still sadly tragic. I enjoyed Haven's struggle of dealing with her debilitating visions of places/people she had never seen in her current life. The past twist was just as fascinating and I wish we would have gotten even more detailed glimpses into more of their past lives besides the most recent one in 1925. I adored the relationship between Haven and Beau and found myself easily getting caught up in the overall mystery of The Eternal Ones. Yet, about 2/3rds into the book, I felt Haven became very wishy-washy in her Ouroboros Society beliefs and that she was exasperatingly tedious with going back and forth in her trust in Ian/Ethan. I did find some parts shockingly spooky (ex. her discoveries while being held captive near the end), but all in all I thoroughly was captivated and cannot wait for what is next.

Coming Soon: Book # 2 - ALL YOU DESIRE - August 9th, 2011

Likes: What little bits we got of the past-life stories was fascinating, especially the story set during ancient Crete.

Dislikes: Lots of controversial religious beliefs were brought up throughout the story and since I'm not really not a fan of religious debates or political prejudices brought up in any type of book, I frowned upon it here too.

Words of Wisdom: "Unless you make the jump, you'll never know what is on the other side." (audio-book)

Rating:

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The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

The Gathering
by Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Review on behalf of Dark Fairy Tales

Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students–for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.

Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya’s determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya’s home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts experiencing “bad vibes” about certain people and things. It doesn’t help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret…and he’s interested in one special part of Maya’s anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

Maya is from a very private and privileged town (or hamlet as she prefers to think about it due to the size) called Salmon Creek. She is liked by all, best buds with the most popular boy at school and, if she wanted, could easily be the track team captain. Yet, she is very grounded for her age, has good morals, is secretly suffering/dealing with the loss of a very dear friend, and cares deeply for her family, nature and surrounding wildlife. Her sixteenth birthday is soon approaching and all Maya asks for is a tattooed outlining of her odd birthmark to her parents dismay. But not all is as it seems since her town, home of the St. Cloud Corporation (aka top secret "medical" research facility for corporate bigwigs), is having some new "reporter" sniffing around trying to dig up personal information on the students. Things also get a little out of control when Maya begins to fall for the high school trouble-maker Rafe (Rafael), but as some startling truths become known and even more dark secrets still remain hidden - can Maya except the change that is to come?

I got absorbed into this story from chapter one. Armstrong's writing style flows wonderfully and is easy to follow. Plus, the characters are very realistic and all likable. I highly enjoy Maya as the protagonist, since she is quite witty and very open in regards to her feelings and thoughts. She did, sometimes, come off as older than her sixteen years, but she is great as a female lead. Her Navajo background was very interesting as well. Rafe and Daniel grew on my throughout The Gathering and the other side characters were all very intriguing in their own ways (including the wildlife). Maya shares lots of personal (ex. alcoholism) and touching (ex. mentally disabled sister) moments with the two lead males and it just goes to show that even though she leads this "perfect" life in this "perfect" town, not everything is glitter and gold -- in more ways than one!

The plot was well planned out and the ending had me wishing for more (even though it did finish quite abruptly). But now, I know this is the beginning of a series and I cannot wait for Book #2. So many questions, so many possibilities! The setting was great and I had a "small town" bond between Maya and myself since "almost all of us[students] plan to go off to college or university, and not many intend to return, but we're happy enough living here until then" (pg 35) hit home for me! Yet, with Salmon Creek offering "the best of everything" (pg 17), it really makes you think - "If something seems too good to be true, it's probably because it is . . . "

Likes: Maya's humor!

{while on the tattoo trip} Maya: "I've decided to skip the paw print. I'm thinking of a tramp stamp with flames that say 'Hot in Here.' No, wait. Arrows. For directionally challenged guys." to her father.

Dislikes: I was shocked her parents seriously allowed her to get a tattoo for her sixteenth birthday, WHAT!?!

Words of Wisdom: Maya's Mom - "Yes, you set high standards for people. Too high sometimes. But you set higher ones for yourself and that's what worries me more, Maya. I want you to have big dreams, big goals. I want you to strive to achieve them. But I don't want to see you beating yourself up every time you make a mistake." (pg. 306)

Rating:

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Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole

Dreams of a Dark Warrior
(Immortals After Dark #11)
by Kresley Cole

Genre : Paranormal Romance Dark Fantasy

He vowed he'd come for her - Murdered before he could wed Regin the Radiant, warlord Aidan the Fierce seeks his beloved through eternity, reborn again and again into new identities, yet with no memory of his past lives—only an endless yearning.

She awaits his return - When Regin encounters Declan Chase, a brutal Celtic soldier, she recognizes her proud warlord reincarnated. But Declan takes her captive, intending retribution against all immortals, unaware that he belongs to their world.

To sate a desire more powerful than death - Yet every reincarnation comes with a price, for Aidan is doomed to die when he remembers his past. To save herself from Declan's torments, will Regin rekindle memories of the passion they once shared—even if it means once again losing the only man she could ever love?

Regan is known to have a drug-like kiss and a reincarnated Berserker that becomes reawakened to their history together upon her affections. Now, that another 500 years has passed, the war between the immortals is heating up and many of the Lore are ending up prisoners within a facility for research. Soon Regan finds herself there under the study of Declan, the Magistrate, who also happens to be her long-ago mate. Since their latest relationship together is in the beginning stages, Declan knows nothing special about Regan except that she arouses passionate thoughts within him that weren't there before. Yet, after numerous brutal and torturous sessions together, can love actually bloom within two enemies?

Ugh, I am so ready for this "research facility" arc to be over. I'm not a fan! I didn't enjoy the last book in the series (sadly!) and I found this one wasn't that great either. I fear we have one more to go before something new comes along as well, boo! Regardless, I keep holding out for 'better' b/c I'm a lover of past books and characters and keep wishing we'll get a glimpse of them somewhere within the story, but overall . . . not liking the constant action packed feel to the plot, its difficult for me to get into any of the relationships, and its a struggle to even enjoy the male leads.

I find the books I really favor best within the IAD series focuses solely on the pair within the story, since they themselves must complete some journey TOGETHER, they ALONE must fight against the enemy/something broken within themselves, and just the two of them makes up a majority of the tale. Interestingly enough, KC has changed her writing style by mixing these newest couples into massive group settings. No longer does the reader get to enjoy the relationship growth between our two leading protagonists like before, but now there are many many others offering silly feedback in regards to the growing lust/love of the couple. . . that it bothers me. I want the focus to switch back to the reason I buy the book (Paranormal Romance between a COUPLE, not group) and not try to expand the Lore world too quickly by adding immense crowds and intense action power. Boring!

Also, I'm one of those women that does not enjoy a man in a uniform. Thus, I don't "get" Duncan's heavy military attire with combat boots and his desire for weaponry . . . nothing there excites me. And I need some true redemption within my stories to give off a feeling of completion and Duncan didn't get far enough for my taste, therefore I couldn't find myself liking him as a character. Honestly, I wanted the original Berserker to come back in full force, but sadly that wasn't the case. I feel Regan deserved better! Plus, there was so much going on within the story that by the time the relationship between the two heated up near the end, I was so over the book that I just wanted to skip it. There was no fun romantic build up for me and Dreams of a Dark Warrior came off a lacking when I finished. I totally rolled me eyes at the Epilogue!

All in all, I find I'm extra hard on this book because I love the IAD series and I truly expected a lot from the story. Yes, I may have some favorite Lore stories that other readers don't favor as much and I understand some readers highly enjoy these 'research facility' books as being some of the best within the series, nonetheless, I'm so ready for something NEW to spice up this series for me again . . . otherwise I might get burned too many times and just turn away.

Likes: I did enjoy the flashbacks to the other Berserker's reincarnated selves, maybe since they WEREN'T Duncan.

Dislikes: Way too action packed for my taste and I'm almost dreading the Lore Accession from coming since it'll be mostly full on 'battle mode' then on out.

Rating:

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