Review: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Book description: 
From #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare comes the first novel in a brand-new trilogy where evil hides in plain sight and love cuts deeper than any blade.

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.

But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

         My review:

Chain of Gold is pure magic! I was utterly captivated from the very start. I am a huge Cassandra  Clare fan, but this may just be my favorite of all of her books yet! I like that there are familiar names and places, yet this is a brand new adventure with some brand new faces. All of the characters are very intriguing and distinct. I am already torn about which I love more. There are so many things to love about Chain of Gold... friendship, adventure, fantasy, romance, deception, scandal, and of course fighting demons lol. Sometimes I have trouble remembering people and details of a series between one book and the next books release, but I truly feel that this book is so memorable that I will have absolutely no problem recalling the storyline. I am so looking forward to reading the next book. Big A++ for Chain of Gold! 

** I received an advanced copy of this book through bookishfirst. This is my honest and voluntary review.** 


     

Review: The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund

 

Book description:

 It seemed like a good plan at first.

When the only other virgin in her group of friends loses it at Keely's own eighteenth birthday party, she knows it's time for drastic measures. If she's going to avoid heading to college without any experience of her own, she needs to find the guy, and fast.

Problem is, she's known all the boys in her small high school forever, and it's kinda hard to be into a guy when you watched him eat crayons in kindergarten. So she can't believe her luck when she meets a ridiculously hot new guy named Dean. Not only does he look like he's fallen out of a classic movie poster, but he drives a motorcycle, flirts with ease, and might actually be into her.

But Dean's already in college, and Keely is convinced he'll drop her if he finds out how inexperienced she is. That's when she talks herself into a new plan: her lifelong best friend, Andrew, would never hurt or betray her, and he's clearly been with enough girls that he can show her the ropes before she goes all the way with Dean.

Of course, the plan only works if Andrew and Keely stay friends--just friends--so things are about to get complicated.

My review: 

The Best Laid Plans is such a fun and engaging read. I was hooked from the start and did not want to stop reading until I was finished. Keely and Andrew are such great friends and I love seeing how well he knows her and how she can completely be herself with him. Dean is such a dreamboat though it's not hard to see why Keely would swoon over him. Honestly I knew where this was going from the start, but man did I enjoy the ride. I think this may very well be the best friends to lovers book that I have ever read. The characters are very well done and intriguing. I loved every second of it. It somewhat reminded me of one of my other favorite YA contemporary romances, The Kissing Booth. I would love to read more books from this author! 

** I received this book free for review through bookishfirst. This is my honest and voluntary review. ** 

      

Review: Demon Bound by Chris Cannon

 Demon Bound is a very entertaining fast-paced YA paranormal romance. You quickly find out that the town the story is set in "Crossroads" is full of demons and other paranormal creatures. The story alternates between Meena and Jake's point of view after they get caught up with a demon named Bane. It was very interesting the way things worked in this town with the demon deals and such. I was quick to bond with Meena over our shared love of books and ice cream. I am interested in seeing more of Meena and what she's actually capable of. Bane seems to think she will be very powerful and I don't think he will give up easily on wanting her by his side. I would love to see another book because I believe her story is just getting started. Definitely a page-turner. Highly recommended. 

** Thank you Entangled Teen and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy for honest review.**

Review: The Best of Beswick by Amalie Howard

 First of all I'd like to admit that I normally am not interested in historical romance, but after reading the first look I was hooked. Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite fairytale and this twist on the tale was such a delight for me to read. Thane and Astrid have amazing chemistry and I loved all of their witty banter. Astrid is such a strong and smart female lead, I truly wish there were more characters like her. Thane is attracted to her mind just as much as her physical appearance and she definitely needs a strong man to be her match while he needs a strong woman to be able to handle him as well. It felt like they were made for each other. The secondary characters were interesting as well, especially the spunky aunt, she was a hoot!  There is just so much about this book to love. I think Beast of Beswick is my favorite read of the year so far!

**I received this book through bookishfirst. This is my honest and voluntary review. **
       

My thoughts on: Shark's Edge

Shark's Edge


I am usually a very good judge of what books I will like. I thought that I would really like this one. I mean enemies to lovers is one of my absolute favorite tropes. Unfortunately I was wrong this time. I tried and tried, but there was just something about it that kept me from enjoying what I was reading. I've got a pretty good guess that it has to do with Sebastian's character. I seemed to like Abbi alright. Other than her bad taste in men that is. I also think something about the writing style just felt off to me. Could it possibly be because there are two writers? I'm not sure. I am definitely disappointed because like I said I seriously thought I was going to love Shark's Edge. Who knows, maybe I will give it another try at a different time and see if I feel differently then.

** I received a copy of this book from bookishfirst. This is my honest and voluntary review. **

Review: Echoes Between Us by Katie McGarry

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Echoes Between Us by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved Echoes Between Us. First of all what a beautiful title for the book! The story is instantly captivating with two teenagers who run in different circles living under the same roof. Well technically it's on different floors and Veronica's dad is renting to Sawyer's mom, but still... They are bound to run into each other. Veronica has a brain tumor, can see ghosts, and is very strange. Sawyer is popular, but secretly doesn't have the best home life among other secrets he's keeping. As if all of that wasn't interesting enough, this book also tackles several heavy subjects. I mean the whole book is just so amazing and I just cannot believe I have not read all of this author's books yet. The writing flows so well and just pulls you instantly without letting you go until the very end. Heck even after the ending I cannot stop thinking about this book! There were some pretty cool side characters as well that I would love to get to have their own books. If you like contemporary teen romance with supernatural aspects that hits hard on the emotions then this book just might be for you.

** I received this book through bookishfirst and this is my honest and voluntary review. **

Review: Cupid's Match by Lauren Palphreyman

Cupid's Match by Lauren Palphreyman

Book description via Bookishfirst: 

For teen Lila Black, Cupid isn’t a myth—he’s her perfect match.

When teen Lila Black arrives at Cupid's Matchmaking Service intent on stopping them from spamming her, her world is turned inside out when she learns not only that cupids exist, but that she’s been matched with the infamous god of love, Cupid. The only catch? Lila's cupid guide, Cal, informs her she can't actually fall for Cupid; if she does, it will summon the goddess Venus, and it won't be pretty. As Cupid and Lila try to resist each other's magnetic pull, they discover an ancient group of cupids, the Arrows, are after them and determined to stop their match. Only by working together and surrendering to the power of myths can Lila and her cupids defeat the Arrows and put an end of Venus, once and for all.

My Review:

Cupid's Match is such a fun and captivating read. From the very beginning I was hooked and needed to find out what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed all of the characters and really liked how they all were unique and brought something special to the story. Cupid being a bit of a bad boy was a fun twist. There was lots of witty banter, which I love. I seriously couldn't make up my mind if I wanted him or his brother Cal to get the girl though; even at the end.

Cupid's Match has a lot of great humor and plenty of action with a forbidden romance, a spunky heroine, and a hint of a possible love triangle. I definitely need to read more about these characters! Although the story felt complete enough on it's own, I'd still love for there to be a sequel.

** I received a copy of this book through bookishfirst. This is my voluntary and honest review.**