November 28, 2014

REVIEW: WILD by Sophie Jordan

WILD by Sophie Jordan (The Ivy Chronicles #3)
Publisher: Avon
Publication: November 18, 2014
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N
Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of sexual adventure at the secret campus kink club?

In the shadowy den of the kink club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to sexual experience. Now he’s telling her to go home—“good girls” don’t belong here!

Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget—one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.

Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other. 

My Review
Oh my god someone hold the phone, because Wild by Sophie Jordan was the best of the best of the Ivy Chronicles trilogy and I just have to tell everyone how amazeballs it really was. I have to say that Jordan really outdid herself with this one. Hands down, Wild was one of my all time favorites.


This book was made by the unexpected and surprising pairing of Georgia and Logan. These two just rocked this book so thoroughly. Georgia was a gem. I liked her so much because she was a great friend, a warm and nice person in general and smart to boot. I loved seeing her try to step out of her shell and be a little wild and adventurous. Logan was a surprise altogether. After seeing him as a playboy in the first and second book, it took my breath away to see another side of him; an understanding, deeper, and gentle side at that. The dirty talking, super sexy, get you all hot and bothered side was to be expected, of course, but to read it an action was something else. Hot daaaaamn!


I also really loved how these two got to know each other while walking along the edge of their sexual tension. Logan brought out a more spontaneous side out of Georgia, whilst not making her do anything too drastic to change her true character. Georgia learned to embrace what she really wanted. She also learned that it was okay not to live up to every expectation and to deviate from them. Logan really helped Georgia to not fear the unknown or the disappointment that she may receive. Georgia got to see how big of a heart Logan really had, the softness and achilles heel he had when it came to caring for others. I just thought the change and the growth these two showed for each other and with each other was truly amazing. It was great that Jordan made room for readers to change their perspectives on these characters and allowed us to see something that was hidden behind the scenes when they weren’t front and center. 


There was a lot of push and pull in this book between Georgia and Logan, more push from her and more pull from him. Logan brought out the delicious side of things very nicely, if I do say so myself and Georgia was mostly the one that struggled with her impulses and feelings and fears. It wasn’t to say that Logan didn’t have his issues, but I thought he was more sure of what he wanted compared to Georgia. I get the hesitation from Georgia and while the set backs between them were frustrating, it was more than evident that it would be all worth the conflict and overbearing mothers and difficult fathers and kinky clubs in the end. 

All in all I thought Wild was the most satisfying of all three books in every way from getting to know Georgia and Logan, to the romance, to the delicious sexy times, and to the conflict and overall plot line. What’s best is that Jordan was very generous with the reappearances of Pepper and Reece and Emerson and Shaw. We get a little more of them and that made my heart super happy to know where they were going and doing next. Wild wraps up the series with a nice shiny bow of contentment. And though I will miss the characters in the series, I am not sad to see them all where they rightfully should be, blessed and full of happy ever afters. 

November 26, 2014

REVIEW: Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N
Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

My Review
Illusions of Fate brought me back to the warm moment when I  finished and devoured Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy. It just brought me back to that place where I just knew I was reading something that good, something that hooked me beyond measure or explanation. Right from the get-go I was completely immersed into White’s latest novel that contained ample amount of whimsicality, magic and edge.

There are many things I love about the main character of this book. Jessamin was such a breath of fresh air, a surprise and a delight to read and be in her head. She wasn’t just independent or strong or brave. She was all that for sure but she was intelligent in a way that she was eager and ready to learn whether it be history, literature or magic. She had sass and snap and just the way she held her head high even when she was stared at or gossiped about made me admire her more and more. 

When it came to Finn, it wasn’t hard to fall in love with him. It was nearly effortless from his out of nowhere first appearance, to his charming personality and his eccentricity. There was just something about him that was so fascinating and magnetic and just gosh darn likable. I loved how he was just so flirtatious and slightly mad. I sort of liked the underlying unhinged powerful quality he exuded. When he wasn’t flirting, he was joking around and being so humorous and even a little naughty. 

My most favorite part of Illusions of Fate was the magic, the fantasy, and the intrigue. Jessamin gets thrust into the cold and rich world of Albion whilst leaving behind her warm and bright island of Melei. When comparing Albion to Melei, Albion lacked the inviting sun and the family traditions and gatherings. Avebury, where Jessamin  lived in Albion, was described thoroughly and richly from the architecture to the cold weather to the snooty people and their elegant attire. White even included how people of Albion treated those who come from the islands through Jessamin’s experiences and encounters of other people. How there was discrimination and prejudices from those with colored skin to those who are not as privileged to those who lacked the power Finn had. All of this just made this book inherently marvelous. 

The main plot was what really had me spellbound the further I got into the book because it just got better and better. It wasn’t just simple magic, it was a war of power and the villain, Downpike, was ready to do just about anything to get his hands on it. He was diabolical, vengeful, evil, and crazed. He was the perfect villain to the hero in Finn and the heroine in Jessamin. The conflict and revelational twists that surrounded these three was absolutely surprising and astounding. I never thought things would go that way and it was freaking awesome. 

My only gripe with this book had to be the romance. There was nothing wrong with it per se. I loved the development of Finn and Jessamin’s relationship and how both had to win over the other. I loved how they were beguiled by one another then at odds until they finally settled onto common ground of partnership and love. I just wish there was more of that romance. I needed just a little more to satisfy. Despite that, I was enchanted by their subtle romance anyhow. 

All in all I thought Illusions of Fate was nearly impeccable. Readers will enjoy the fantasy ride brought on by the magic feud between Finn and Downpike along with Jessamin’s smart thoughts and comebacks. There’s much to love when it comes to Illusions of Fate!

November 23, 2014

Time for a much needed UPDATE!

Hello to everyone who still follows, stops by blog, reads the posts, authors who still reach out for spotlights and review requests...

I must say I am terribly sorry for disappearing once again. It was probably this time of the year, last year, where I started to drift off. I was having a tough time getting into books and lost interest for awhile. It's not anyone's fault, I think I just forgot why I loved to read and ended up stopping for awhile.

When the 2014 rolled around, I decided I wanted to get back into the blogging world after being gone for a couple of months. It was obvious that I wasn't into it 100%, and it can be seen by the amount of posts I had. But I tried to juggle reading and blogging and reviewing all the while dealing with my final semester in university. I got pretty steady with playing catch up reading and reviews around February and March.

It wasn't until the end of March when things started to get bad in my personal life. My dad had a stroke which led him to be immobile on his left side. The stress of his stroke and of school had me in the hospital for a day. While my dad was in the hospital recovering, I was arranging my International Experience to study abroad for a week during spring break. It couldn't be held off since I needed to go to graduate in May. So I had to leave for Germany while I left my dad in the care of a rehab center so he could gain the strength back on his left side.

I had a great time in Germany, met new people, and saw new sites. It was an adventure I never even dreamed I would have ever had the chance to experience. So because of my dad's condition, the school and my Germany trip, reading and blogging took a back slide. I tried to read a bit here and there, but when your mind was elsewhere, it was hard. Coming back from Germany was still a struggle. My dad wanted to go home, I still had final exams and graduation to worry about. But my dad recovered immensely and he still continued to recover today.

When graduation hit, I felt accomplished. Like another chapter in my life has finished. I hoped that over the summer I would catch up with all my unread review books and I was starting to. It was a slow process. I was enjoying being school free while I took care of my dad since he was finally able to come home from the center a few days before I graduated. He sadly, couldn't come to my graduation, but that's all in the past and I have moved on from it.

It was until the end of June and beginning of July hit that I needed to get a job. My boyfriend applied me, I got an interview and I got hired. It's my first job. I know...23 years old and you only had a job now? Crazy right?! My dad was adamant of me not getting a job and focusing on school until I got my coveted degree in Health Science. So I knew that I didn't have the experience yet to go after a job under my degree. I thought working wouldn't take up so much of my time. I thought other bloggers had college and jobs and blogged too, so maybe I could do it too. I wasn't entirely wrong. I thought I could do it, but I didn't realize how tired I was all the time.

I still am tired all the time. I've been working at Subway as a Sandwich Artist since July. It's not exactly a hard job, but it's not easy either. The schedules are mixed up so one day I work in the morning, the next maybe in the afternoon, and then maybe again in the morning the next day, and maybe the next day I'm closing the store. I know it's a lame excuse to say that that I'm tired, that I don't have the time or energy. I'm working on it. I'm still reading. I've been writing reviews here and there, I just haven't had the energy to actually make a blog post.

I am behind on reading and reviewing and posting, but I found that being away from the blog has left me to enjoy the easy pace of reading. Of being able to draw out a book for a long period or read it in a day if I can and not worry about taking notes, or reviewing or blog posts. But I also have missed being involved. Being able to chat with bloggers and authors about books. I missed being up to date on the latest books and adding them on my TBR/wish list.

With all that, I'm not quite sure when I'll be truly back. Just know that I will be popping up here and there. For now, I'm closing my review requests. I'll be on twitter more, I promise. And again, I am sorry for being MIA, a lot. I appreciate those who still follow me and come by and talk to me on twitter. You guys are great and you'll always be the reason for coming back.

If you guys don't mind, send me some recommendations I may have missed out on! Love you guys xoxo