NICOLE'S REVIEW: Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Reckoning
Author: Wendy Higgins
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: April 29 2014

Publishing House: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780062265975
Source of Copy: Harper Collins

Summary:

It's time. Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive wrath.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous - especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna's great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she's prepared to risk.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

This is the third book in the series so I'd suggest to those who haven't read the first two books to avoid this review in case of spoilers.

This is it! The final battle. Everything that Anna and Kaidan and the rest of the nephs have gone through and have fought for will culminate in one last epic battle to rid the world of the Dukes. Kai and Anna are pursuing a relationship (FINALLY) after trying to deny their feelings for each other and are biding their, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That is until Pharzuph, Kaidan's dad and the Duke of Lust, uses Kai against Anna. This could be the perfect opportunity to strike or the downfall of all their carefully laid out plans.

The characters have matured. They've ended up with who they wear meant to be with - despite the iffiness of them all getting into relationships with fellow nephs except for Marna of course - and become who they were meant to be. Sure, Kaidan's too perfect (bad boy, rockstar god, sexy, brooding alpha male with a heart of gold?), probably most of the boys and girls in this series are but it's okay. I still love them. I mean yeah they all have their vices because duh they are kids of actual Sins personified but everyone's just so good and kind and nice and why can't we have someone who straddles the line? Someone who'll make me cheer for him and simultaneously hate on him/her? 

(Oh come on, I know how much Kaidan has suffered but somehow I just couldn't FEEL it.)

But anyway, it's the last book so scratch that thought and just enjoy the ride. It's a good book. Entertaining with a plot that, while a bit predictable, still manages to throw in a few surprises here and there. I could just feel the tension build as Anna and her gang waited for the perfect time to serve justice although it was nice of Higgins to give a them a few breaks in between because its hard to find the time to just chill around with family and forget about that axe hanging over everyone's heads.

The final battle was okay, Higgins writes better love scenes than she does action but hey, I'm not complaining. I liked the friendships between the characters and how Anna was always level headed and quite non-judgy which makes her the perfect go-between. The bond she has with her fellow nephs was endearing and I'm pretty sure we all need friendships as strong as that in our lives.

Be warned though, Higgins is not afraid to kill off characters so harden your hearts and watch out for that sickly sweet epilogue. 

Sweet Reckoning is the end to one of those angel trilogies that won't make you barf or induce numerous eye rolls. Read this series. No regrets, and I look forward to the next book this author has up her sleeves.

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MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett

Title: The Stepsister's Tale
Author: Tracy Barrett
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 24, 2014

Publishing House: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 9780373211210
Source of Copy: Netgalley

Summary:

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family - especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to the royal ball are certain to change her fate...

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

While her mother may still have her delusions of grandeur, Jane Montjoy knows that her crumbling estate is now reduced to a has-been. Jane and her sister Maud milk the cow, mend and repair their own now too-tight dresses, and clean the place up to the best of their abilities while their mother pretends that servants are still doing the work for them. But Jane's mother remarries and not too soon, her new husband dies, leaving debt and his own daughter to the care of the Montjoys. 

Jane Montjoy and her sister Maude are used to a life of scrubbing floors, and making do with what meager things they have. I like both sisters because while others might moan and complain about having to have a difficult childhood amidst a once-glorious setting, they both take it all in stride and try to survive a day at a time. Their mother, however, is unaccustomed to the hard life, having been born to affluent parents and a place in society. While I surmised that the mother is embarrassed of having to stoop down from her pedestal to do anything around the house, I really felt bad for the sisters for having a mother who instead of contributing anything to their survival, only thought that they might have a better life if she remarried.

And thus, we meet Ella - and she is not the angel we all pictured in our heads when we were five years old. This Ella is selfish and a total brat, but I'm guessing that this is stemming from the fact that she is uprooted and suddenly has to call a bunch of strangers her family. Ella, who knows nothing but to make herself look pretty and presentable to society, has to share an apple with other members of the family, because as it turns out, her father is good at keeping up airs. I won't go into the details anymore, as this is a retelling of Cinderella, but I did like how Barrett handled a slew of characters who had minds and personalities of their own. It's quite uncanny how very humanlike they are, as they exhibit flaws and traits that both endear and irk the reader - a huge factor, I think, why this retelling worked out so well. 

Forget Grimm's version of Cinderella. Forget Disney's version as well. Barrett's version is much, much better, and it satisfactorily fills in the holes that any skeptical audience of the other versions poked at.

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[Blog Tour] More than Music by Elizabeth Briggs

Title: More than Music
Author: Elizabeth Briggs
Format Acquired: ePub

Publication Date: June 17 2014

Publishing House: Elizabeth Briggs Books

ISBN: 9781499607994
Source of Copy: Blog Tour

Summary:

Music major Maddie Taylor just finished her junior year of college and has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, yet every night she practices guitar and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.

Once on the show, Maddie discovers there's more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation - and that he's just as big a geek as she is. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single they're forced to keep their relationship secret.

As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Link to the giveway on the sidebar!

Review:

I'm going to start off this review by saying that this was better than expected. My forays into the New Adult genre have always flopped and that made me afraid to give this book a go. But I believe in  second chances, and thirds and fourths and so I joined the tour. This book gets an instant 3 stars for the mention of Anberlin and all the music references. I love them so much so forgive me for being a little biased. Heh.

Maddie Taylor's about to take up an internship with the LA Philharmonic despite the fact that she secretly plays guitar and has rock star aspirations. As fate would have it, Jared Cross, lead singer and guitarist of Villain Complex catches her rocking out and invites her to join the band because they badly need her so they can join The Sound, reminiscent of The Voice, a reality TV battle of the bands kind of thing. Of course, once on set Maddie realizes that Jared isn't all about flirting and girls and doing the nasty. He's actually kind of a geek and kind of an okay guy. How is Maddie supposed to resist? 

Truthfully? I was never fond of rockstar romances but this book made it okay, less cringe-worthy. Maddie is multi-talented; she plays guitar, piano, sings a little and does a little clarinet. She's a decent character, a little shy, a little relatable, a little annoying with how she put Jared so high up on a pedestal. 

Jared on the other hand is typical of YA/NA. The tortured artist, the guy who leaves behind a trail of broken hearts, the one all the girls pine over. I mean he's a geek and I suppose that added a bit to his charm but still, as sexy as he is I don't know if I want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. He has big issues and out of control hormones but that's not to say that he wasn't a decent character. He was. He's just...typical of the genre.

So basically this book is like The Voice except it's The Sound and instead of singers they feature bands. It's like one of those reality TV shows except in text format but probably way more entertaining. It's got drama, romance, music and kissy scenes that lead to more kissy scenes if you know what I mean. 

If you're looking for a romance that features hot musicians and fluff then this one's for you. A quick read that will definitely satisfy and this book gives me hope for NA. (Or maybe it's just really my bad luck that all the NA I've ever tried was just....no.) So thank you Elizabeth Briggs. I'm looking forward to the Hector Novella set in Comic-Con.

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