Review: Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

Paperback, 438 pages

Published October 23rd 2012 by Harlequin Teen 

Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

This is not the time for the fight to end. Now is when the fight will begin. This is the time to regain what has been lost.

Alera

Queen of a fallen kingdom, secretly in love with the enemy.

Shaselle

Daughter of a murdered father, rebel with a cause.

One lives behind the former Hytanican palace walls and walks the razor's edge to keep the fragile peace in her beloved homeland. The other slips through the war-torn streets, seeking retribution for her family's tragedy, following whispers of insurgency.

Both face choices that will separate them from those they cannot help but love. As their stories intertwine, a conspiracy ignites that may end in slavery or death—or lead to freedom anew, if only each can face what must be sacrificed.

A phenomenal ending to a brilliant series. Period. 

I had questioned myself on whether I wanted to continue with the series after reading Legacy. I thought it was a good story, but took too long to get to where it was going. Thankfully I did carry on and this book was definitely worth the wait. 

The two POV's in this book was iffy to me and I did not think that it would work well. It ended up being a great compliment to the story, especially being able to see the conflicts from both sides. I loved the pacing and placement of action in this installment. It was right where it needed to be and always held my attention to keep flipping pages. The plot didn't necessarily go the way I thought it would, or should really, but I understand the concessions Kluver made and the results of them. The culminating events that decide Hytanica's fate will leave you breathless!

The characters are fully matured now and the reader gets to enjoy the effects of their full circle. Alera and Narian are the essential "life-bloods" of the story. Everything that is to be decided is determined by their actions and influence. It was wonderful to see Alera step-up from childhood and truly embrace being decisive and tactical ruler. She finally learned how to put her foot down and inspires her country to do so as well. Narian takes an interesting journey this time around. We get to learn so much more about him and this information ends up being a significant player in the game. I wasn't convinced until this book that he would be a suitable leader or counterpart to Alera. Shaselle offers a great alternate POV to the events. I believe she is the girl that Alera would have been had she not been born into higher level royalty. She is very perceptive, but there were many times I wondered what in the world she was thinking. That was always with a decision that I knew would bring her grief and ultimately did in the end. The other characters pretty much played out the story as I thought they would. We find out a little more information here and there, but you will probably find the background on London and someone else really interesting. 

Overall, this was my favorite book in the series. The characters and plot were right where they should be and Kluver's writing improved leaps and bounds. It is definitely worth the wait, but reading the previous books are a must. There is no starting in the middle of this series, you'd be completely lost. A highly recommended set of books by all means!

Waiting on Wednesday - February 20, 2013

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme from Jill at Breaking the Spine. To join in, share the book or books that you are currently drooling over as you await their release and report back to Breaking the Spine with the link to your post. The gorgeous badge above is brought to us by Lindsay at The Violet Hour!

I have followed this series since the beginning and cannot wait to see what happens next. The Goddess Legacy was a great addition to the series and I believe it'll really help clarify many of the choices and attitudes of the characters in this installment. It'll be interesting to see how it is wrapped up!

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: February 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

From Goodreads:

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

YA Paranormal Hop Giveaway!

Our friends at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and YA Between the Lines have joined together to bring us the ultimate YA paranormal book hop! Over 150+ blogs have signed up to offer you the chance to win a plethora of our favorite paranormal books.

To sweeten the deal, I am going to offer up a book by a couple of my favorite authors. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl are famous for their outstanding series, Beautiful Creatures. However, this year they are striding out on their own. Kami's Legion series and Margaret's Icons series both begin this year with Unbreakable and Icons respectively.

So here is the deal:

Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a book of your choice from these authors. For the sake of my budget, this will be US ONLY. Choose one to complete the Beautiful Creatures series you may have already started or choose to begin one of their next paranormal adventures!

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Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Hardcover, 392 pages

Published July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen 

Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

 An absolutely amazing book. Do not let my 3 stickies fool you into thinking otherwise. While it is not something that I would normally read or purchase for my own, the book has wonderful characters and deals with so many teen social issues. The writing is so well done the story and characters flow fluidly right through to the end. There is a whole roller coaster of emotions in this one. You'll cover extreme anger to gut-wrenching sadness within a few pages. This is one that will awe you over and over again.

The main characters, Echo and Noah, have both been traumatic experiences in their life. Echo's has left her scarred mentally and physically to the point that her mind has blocked the event out entirely. Noah has the opposite issue of dealing with his problems on a daily basis. Together they face their demons and come to an absolution. The journey to that point is both beautiful and tragic, but readers will enjoy watching them grow and mature along the way. They were, however, very melodramatic and a little too full of angst for my taste. 

Issues such as depression and other mental illnesses, drugs, sex, and peer pressure are covered thoroughly throughout the book. Fortunately, the book is also written well enough that it does not feel like you're reading a pamphlet that would be usually found in the counselor's office. This makes the book drag in spots though and it could have been a lightened a little bit. If you deal with any extreme emotions about these topics, consult a friend before reading this book. 

For the Love of Swoon Giveaway Hop!

The Book Hookup and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer have joined forces to bring you a completely swoon-worthy event. The blogs involved in this giveaway hop are offering up some of their favorite books that have just that "one thing" that makes their heart flutter. Well friends, this was an easy choice for me and  I came up with some options for you!

Julie Kagawa is one of my favorite authors. Period. There are always so many aspects of her books that inspire my imagination and fill my dreams with wonder. Where's the swoon-worthiness? It is in her magnificent characters. Ash from the Iron Fey series is my top "swoon-worthy" character. He has the  personality and protection of a true knight and has taken my breath away more than once. Yes, our Puck is adorable with his sarcasm and wit, but he just doesn't have the edge that Ash does. A couple of very close runner ups and heroes in their own rights are Megan's brother Ethan from the Call of the Forgotten series and the charm of Zeke from the Immortal Rules series. None of these will leave you short-handed in the swoon department!

So, to share the swoon love this Valentine's Day, I am offering up one (1) of the books by Julie Kagawa to be shipped to you via Amazon. If you've already started on a series, awesome. This will help you get the next installment or finale of that series. If not, prepare yourself for the ride that awaits you from the very first book!

 The Iron Fey

 The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten

The Immortal Rules

Releases April, 2013

 For budget reasons, this one will have to be US ONLY.

Fill in the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

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