Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Publisher: Balzer + Bray      
Publication date: January 22nd 2013
My rating: 4 stars

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.
Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.
Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.
In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

It's a rare treat to stumble upon a book where I ship the main characters with both guys. I usually go for the underdog which frequently leaves my ships unsailed in the harbor. 

If you haven't already read the first book you should probably stop reading cause I will be posting some minor spoilers. 

Everbound starts up not long ago after Jack sacrificed himself for Nikki. He's now in Everneath and Nikki's trying to persuade Cole to help her get him back. Nikki doesn't have a life on Earth so the obvious choice would be to hunt Jack down. What else's she going to do with her time?

It's strange how riveting these books are once you start reading them. Well, at least it's strange for me because I never think of mythology as something new and fresh. Same things goes for retellings. We all already know how those stories go so there isn't much left to be desired. But Brodi Ashton's books are effortless and gripping. At this point I don't think she can go wrong with the final book. 

Now to the love triangle which isn't actually a triangle since Nikki obviously loves Jack. Cole somehow succeeds to weasel his blond head into the equation. I don't know how he does it every time. There's something about him. I just can't hate him. I still don't think he's a bad guy, even though he tricks Nikki every chance he gets. I start to think he'll change and do something selfless. Guess I'll have to hope he'll advance from his current state for mind. There's still one more book left. 

I'm so glad I decided to wait and read Everbound near the release of Evertrue.  The ending was unexpected, to say the least. 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Publisher: Balzer + Bray    
Publication date: January 28th 2014
My rating: 4 stars

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Cruel Beauty has been on my wishlist since the moment I read the blurb.  You see, I wad one of those kids who had a ton of Beauty and the Beast coloring books, stickers and wore Belle pajamas, so and when my friend Glass offered me a chance to read the ARC with her I just couldn`t pass the opportunity. Gosh! And look at that beautiful cover. 

The first thing you need to know about this book is that Rosemund Hodge created her own spin on BatB with weaving a breathtaking fairytale with a splash of Greek mythology thrown in there. This alone should be enough to capture your attention. 

Nyx's father has been training her to marry and one day kill a powerful immortal Ignifex who's been striking bargains with mortals for ages. In one of these bargains Nyx's mother died after delivering Nyx and her twin sister into this world. Nyx doesn't have a great relationship with her father because he never cared for her like other fathers do. She's glad to be rid of him even though she's forced to live with a demon until one of them died. She is convinced Ignifex is a devil with the angel's body ans she will do whatever it takes to destroy him. But what if there's something more to this story? What if Ignifex in fact isn't the bad guy?

The best thing about this book is the colorful description of the castle. The never ending staircase leading to Nyx's room, dark bedrooms, the dining hall, the ball room which lights up with water at night, the garden and that field. Just beautiful. Oh I don't think I've ever been in love with the portrayal of a house/castle so much I wanted to move there, but only if Ignifex would be kind enough to proviide me with a wifi connection. 

I would recommend it to readers who enjoy exploring fairytales with a mythology variation. Don't miss this incredible debut novel! 

This is the first book I read in our little club. I'll share the link for Glass' review once she posts it. 

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Dutton Adult    
Publication date: June 4th 2012
My rating: 2 stars

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of Xseries, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academyand Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

Eh, what a disappointment this book turned out to be. I'm really upset. As you may know, Richelle is my favorite author. I would read anything she writes. Well, the only exceptions were Dark Swan series and Age of X which is the title of this new series. They just didn't click with me the way that Succubus, VA and Bloodlines did. 

When I found out I got approved for this egalley I was ecstatic and I started reading it right away. That was months ago, in February and it was finished a couple of hours ago. The reason I didn't completely abandoned it is that it's Richelle freaking Mead we're talking about!  

I don't think this will be a long review because I don't feel comfortable giving my favorite author a negative review but I have to write something. 

Gameboard of the Gods did require a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Richelle obviously did put a lot of effort to create this new world but it was just too much of everything. She used mythology references like she usually does in her novels mixed with a dystopian world. I'm not usually for info-dumping this time it was necessary. We get snippets of information and then we have to wait to find out later what it all means. I'm not talking about revealing the big secrets. We didn't get general information till later which didn't make me a happy camper. It was so confusing and hard to keep up. How can I like a book I don't even understand? 

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Publisher: Balzer + Bray    
Publication date: January 24th 2012
My rating: 4 stars

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Don't know what it is but I feel like I give higher ratings to books I own in print. I'm actually positive. It must be because of that wonderful book smell and page flipping. 

So. How to start this thing? You know those love triangle books have two different guys fighting over a girl? And you always pick a side. You either go for the bad boy or the boy next door. Well, this time I can't make up my mind. On one hand there's Jack. Nikki's boyfriend who's always been there for her and treater her right. Basically, he's a really nice guy. I should be on Team Jack but I'm still not sure. Then there's Cole. He's an Everliving. He's an immortal/Hades/supernatural being or whatever and he wants Nikki to stay with him forever in Everneath. He's also in a band called Dead Elvises which means he's very popular with the ladies but he only has eyes for Nikki. This should pull me in from the start but there's this thing where Cole doesn't actually feel anything. He just steals other people's emotions. He doesn't have his own so I'm not completely on board of Cole x Nikki ship. There's still time for improvement in the sequel which we'll probably see Cole's some human side. Hope I'm not wrong about this. 

Huh. I do love to ramble about love triangles. 

I did start reading this book last year but abandoned it after the first ten pages for some reason. I think I was tired of the hyped YA books back then. However, I did like it this time. In fact, it was unputdownable. Mum was bugging me to help her with some things and I said I have just a few pages left when there were actually 120 pages left. Now she's mad at me but I'll make it up to her somehow. I didn't mind hearing her yell. It was worth it. :) Can't wait to find out what happens next. Now I just need to order Everbound. 

Book Review: Valkyrie Symptoms and Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

Title:  Valkyrie Rising
Author:  Ingrid Paulson
File type:  hardcover
Release date:  October 9^th, 2012
Genre:  YA, mythology, paranormal romance

Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there. 
What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impossible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them.
Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s unexpectedly-epic coming of age.

The reason I read this book was that short story- Valkyrie Symptoms,  which came out a couple of days ago. It’s in Tucker’s POV and it was so sweet. I liked the banter he shared with Ellie, kid sister of his best friend, Graham. Tucker is afraid to act on his feelings towards Ellie because he thinks her brother will not approve and doesn’t want to lose their friendship. This short story is set a couple of days before Valkyrie Rising begins. It was a great introduction for the series and the only thing I didn’t like is that it was too short.

Valkyrie Rising starts with Ellie travelling to Norway, to visit her grandmother. After she gets there people start acting strange and they claim her grandma is a witch. A lot of young boys disappeared and people think she is responsible even though all grandma did was help out. But not all think that way. Ellie meets Kjell, a local boy who is drawn to her and they hit it off. But soon her brother and Tuck appear so we get to see Ellie interact with her brother and also Tucker teasing her. Everything doesn’t go so smoothly and her brother disappears along with Kjell and grandma so Ellie begins the search with a little help from Tucker. She also discovers she is Valkyrie. That is a mythical creature from the Norse mythology. They lead dead warriors to Valhalla. The problem is that those missing boys aren’t dead, which is a big no-no according to Loki, who also graces us with his presence.

The first part of the book was more enjoyable, middle was messy and the ending was satisfying. The reason I didn’t like the middle is that two teenagers were up against ancient mythical creatures and the managed to stay alive without any help from adult, if you don’t count Loki, who didn’t really help at all. He was observing, not willing to get his hands dirty. I am well aware the fact this is a story for teens but I don’t get why didn’t we hear from Ellie & Graham’s mum at all? She just ships her kids to a different continent and doesn’t bother to call them? Then grandma disappears. Sure, teens are going to save, not just the town but the world all alone. Am I the only one who notices how unrealistic and messed up this is?

 It could have a sequel but at the same time I feel it did solve all problems so it could work as a standalone. But if it gets a sequel, I’ll read it.