Chimera by Vaun Murphrey

My edition: Kindle owned
Pages: 487
Series: Weaver #1
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
Publish: July 29th, 2014
Rating: DNF

Synopsis:

If you witnessed your parents killed at age five for reasons unknown only to endure eight years of isolation in captivity, what would you do with your life when you were suddenly rescued by family you never knew you had? What if you yourself were even more than you seemed? The universe can be both a terrible and wonderful place to live if you have the courage to explore it. Enter an alternate reality of civil war, secrets, murders and betrayals that transcends space and time with CHIMERA, Book One of the Weaver Series.

Review:

No rating. This book just wasn’t for me.

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 277
Series: Eagle Elite #1
Genre: New Adult, Collage
Publish: July 9th 2013
Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis:

For Tracey Rooks, life with her grandparents on a Wyoming farm has always been simple. But after her grandmother’s death, Tracey is all her grandfather has. So when Eagle Elite University announces its annual scholarship lottery, Tracey jumps at the opportunity to secure their future and enters. She isn’t expecting much-but then she wins. And life as she knows it will never be same . . .

The students at Eagle Elite are unlike any she’s ever met . . . and they refuse to make things easy for her. There’s Nixon, gorgeous, irresistible, and leader of a group that everyone fears: The Elect. Their rules are simple. 1. Do not touch The Elect. 2. Do not look at The Elect. 3. Do not speak to The Elect. No matter how hard she tries to stay away, The Elect are always around her and it isn’t long until she finds out the reason why they keep their friends close and their enemies even closer. She just didn’t realize she was the enemy — until it was too late.

Review:

This would have gotten a higher rating if it was based in high school and not college. The characters didn’t feel like they were at college but a boarding school. I like the premise but it didn’t feel the age group which really brought down my liking for the book.

I was also confused for a bit during the middle of the book, but I think that was my brain trying to wrap it around our H and h.

Which I don’t like the H. Dickwad is the perfect word for him. I hated his hot and cold attitude. It about gave me whiplash it was so back and forth. The h started out good when she stood up to Nixon but she fell through easy. She could have made him grovel more.

There was hinted at the end that a love triangle might happen. Which I am not a huge fan. Also the ending seemed to have a soap opera drama llama end. I don’t mind them if they are written right. I’ve read Rachel before and loved her work but this one didn’t quite hit the spot.

Don’t know if I will give second book a try.

Bloodfire by Helen Harper

My edition: Kindle owned
Pages: 246
Series: Blood Destiny #1
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy,
Publish: December 27th, 2012
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis:

Mack might be, to all intents and purposes, a normal looking human, but she lives with a pack of shapeshifters in Cornwall in rural England after being dumped there by her mother when she was just a young child. She desperately wants to be accepted by her surrogate family, not least because a lot of them hate her for merely being human, but for some reason her blood just won’t allow the transformation to occur.

With a terrible temper to match her fiery red hair, Mack is extraordinarily useful in a fight, and when her pack alpha is brutally and abruptly murdered, she swears vengeance. Unfortunately, his murder also draws in the Brethren – the leaders of the shapeshifter world – who will slaughter everyone in Mack’s small rural pack if they discover her true identity. Unfortunately Corrigan, the green-eyed muscle-bound Lord Alpha of the Brethren, doesn’t let much slip by him…

Review:

Mack was brought to the Cornish pack by her mother when she was very young. The pack has been put under a spell to never tell a soul about Mack’s lack of shifterness.

After the Cornish pack’s alpha is murdered, Mack wants revenge. But one problem. The Brethren are alerted and are coming. They can’t know about Mack’s real identity. But that may be the least of Mack’s problem.

I liked the story. I added the second book to my TBR list. I will continue on with it. As of right now I’ve got a stock pile of books I need to get to before I move on with this one.

Josh & Hannah by Lynda Chance

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 303
Series: Redwood Falls #1
Genre: NA, High school
Publish: July 31st 2013
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis:

Josh Turner wants Hannah more than life itself. She’s perfect and new . . . but she’s a McIntyre. She’s from the richest family in the county, and he’s a Turner, from the wrong side of the proverbial tracks. And to make matters worse, there’s no love lost between their families.

Review:

Josh Turner is from the wrong side of the tracks, Hannah from the right.

I like stories like this, normally the other way around. Girl from wrong side and guy from right, but I’ll take it any way.

While I like the story, I wasn’t in love with it. It hit the spot. I do plan on reading the rest of the series but for right now I’m putting on hold. I really want Katie and Zach’s story which is next but I have a ton of books I need to get through.

P.S. Josh Turner is one hot alpha male!

The Tutor by K. Larson

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages:438
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Dark
Publish: June 5, 2017
Rating: 5 MESSED WITH MY MIND STARS!

Synopsis:

After a party gone wrong and in desperate need of money for the fall semester of college, twenty-year-old Nora Robertson needs to escape her hometown.

She accepts a summer long live-in tutoring job for a handsome man and his little sister at a secluded home deep in the mountains.

There is no running water.

No electricity.

No internet or cell service.

When her tutoring job ends she’s hit with a brutal turn of events… she’s not permitted to leave. After months in captivity, she makes a harrowing escape with her student that ends in a car accident on a desolate road. When Nora comes to, her student is missing. In a desperate attempt to find the girl, Nora will have to recount her time held captive.

The good and the bad.

Can Nora and the authorities work together to find the man who took her? Will they rescue the girl Nora tried to save?

Review:

Warning: THIS IS NOT A DARK ROMANCE!

All my life, people promised that dreams could come true . . . but they forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.

If you are wanting a dark romance look somewhere else. In this book, we go into the mind of a woman who has Stockholm Syndrome and other symptoms of being held captive and manipulated.

Captivity is a state of mind. A thing you carry with you. It is hard to let go of, even when you have your freedom returned.

Nora has accepted to taking a tutoring job in a reclusive mountain cabin to a man and his sister. For three months everything is perfect, until she has to leave.

I’ve learned the heart is a wild beast, that’s why it is caged inside our ribs, that monsters are real and they look like humans and that love is a fickle beast.

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to even like this book, but now that I’ve finished it, I’m glad I stuck with it.

There are multiple character P.O.V. so it’s a bit confusing at first. I’m very happy that this went the way it did. I really like the fact that we got many P.O.V.s because it helped the story.

Nora had to survive Holden. How she chose was to simply give in instead of fighting.

We all have demons. I simply chose to feed mine in order to survive

I really didn’t know how this was going to end. It had me on my toes. There is another book called The Brother which I think is going to be a sequel to this. Haven’t looked much into it yet. Our heroine is a logophile. I found some new words that I don’t think I am pronouncing right.

The story of going through Nora’s mind of what happened and trying to piece together what is going to happen is incredible. I love the psychological aspect. This isn’t like anything I have ever read. Definitely giving K. Larsen another run in the future.

Girl with Guitar by Caisey Quinn

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 210
Series: Kylie Ryans #1
Genre: New Adult, Musician
Publish: May 22, 2013
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

After Kylie’s dad dies in a freak accident, he leaves her with nothing other than her crazy step-mother, Darla, and the ability to play guitar. When Darla kicks Kylie out and she loses her job all in the same day, she hops a bus to Nashville determined to make her late father’s dreams come true. Waitressing and saving her pennies to record a demo, her big break comes when she’s asked to join a tour going down the tubes with once platinum album-selling country music superstar Trace Corbin. But touring with Trace is hardly a dream come true since he’s pretty much drinking his career down the drain. If Kylie can’t pull Trace out of his rut, he’ll pull her and her dreams down with him.

Review:

Kylie just got kicked out of her childhood home by her evil stepmother. It’s been seven months since her father died. Kylie packs up what she has and heads to Nashville to chase her and her father’s dream.

While there she gets up on an open mic night and sings her heart out. Little did she know country star Trace Corbin and his manager are there. She gets a once in a lifetime chance to tour with a star. Little does she know its a chance in hell dealing with Trace drinking and his attitude.

I like that Kylie put Trace in his place many times. Their relationship is a roller coaster. I like the story but I am going to have to put the rest of the series off for right now. It’s not that I don’t want to continue on, but more of a “there are other books I want to read more” kind of situation.

If you wanting a cute romantic H and h story, keep looking because this isn’t it. We have a H who is an asshole who doesn’t do relationships, and a h who won’t take his shit but lets her feelings control situations at times.

If you want a “I need to have some feels, but not gut wrenching twist the knife deeper feels” look no further. This is your book.