NOVELLA REVIEW: Bitter Sweet Love (Dark Elements #0.5)

Bitter Sweet Love (Dark Elements #0.5), by Jennifer L. Armentrout
To Be Published December 1, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Format: e-galley, provided by the publisher
Genre:  Young Adult Paranormal Romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything...right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again...

Let's talk about gargoyles for a sec here. If you're like me, this is the first thing you think about when you hear about those things:

Well, actually, when I hear the word "gargoyle," pop culture maven that I am, THIS is actually the first thing I think about:

Either way - whether you're talking about the classics from Notre Dame or the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster, I think we can all agree that sexy is absolutely not one of the adjectives that you would pick to describe them. And, when I heard that Jennifer Armentrout was writing a new paranormal romance series about them, I must admit, I was skeptical. 

Leave it to Jennifer Armentrout to obliterate my preconceived notions.

Bitter Sweet Love introduces us to the world she has created in her new series from HarlequinTEEN, The Dark Elements. It's a prequel novella centering around 18-year-old Jasmine and 21-year-old Dez - both "Wardens," or gargoyles in laymens terms. Wardens are here to protect humans from demons, and six years ago, hell unleashed them enmasse upon the world for reasons as yet unknown.

Jas and Dez planned to be mated before Dez took off without a goodbye. Three years later, he's back and ready to pick up where they left off, but Jas isn't ready to unguard her wounded heart. Dez sets about trying to change her mind and win her back. All the while, Jennifer is teaching the reader about this new world she's created and the rules and characters in it.

We learn that Wardens have their true form which includes wings, horns and stone-like skin that is pretty impervious. Most of their time is spent in their human form, which allows them to blend in. Only their pale eyes make them stand out. Females are considered weaker - they stay home to have babies. But many die in childbirth, so their race is actually dying out. And, the males go out every night hunting the demons that threaten everyone's safety.

We are also introduced to Layla and Zayne, the main characters from White Hot Kiss (Dark Elements #1), and we learn a little bit about them and the type of relationship they have right now. The real stars, though, were Jas and Dez. I loved both of them so much, and I sincerely hope that we'll catch at least a glimpse of them in White Hot Kiss. The chemistry between these two was absolutely ridiculous. I loved every second of their crazy sexual tension.

Jennifer has this uncanny ability to make a novella feel like a full-length novel. It might be shorter than normal, but it is most definitely not short on character development or world building. It's sometimes hard for me to connect with a character over the course of a 400-page book. Jen manages to not only get me to connect with, but to genuinely get invested in her characters in only 100 pages. Although Bitter Sweet Love isn't essential to know what's happening in White Hot Kiss, I would absolutely recommend you read it first anyway. It's a perfect introduction to the series and to characters that are sure to blow your mind.

Want a sneak peak at Dez and Jas? Click on the picture and read an excerpt from Bitter Sweet Love. Then, jump to Goodreads and enter to win one of 20 ARCs of White Hot Kiss from HarlequinTEEN!

DOUBLE ARC REVIEW: Castle Hill: A Joss and Braden Novella & Before Jamaica Lane

Castle Hill: A Joss and Braden Novella (On Dublin Street #2.5), by Samantha Young
To Be Published December 3, 2013
Publisher: NAL (Intermix)
Format: e-galley, provided by NetGalley
Genre:  Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Braden Carmichael never imagined he’d fall as hard and as fast as he did for Jocelyn Butler. He also could not have anticipated how difficult it would be to convince her to give in to love. But now that he has her, he’s never letting go. He’s got it all planned—the passionate proposal, the dream wedding, the sexy Hawaiian honeymoon—even the perfect family they’ll start.

After trying to flee from her painful past, Joss is finally allowing herself to embrace the future. But when things start moving faster than she anticipated, she finds herself panicking over something Braden can’t understand. After everything they’ve been through, Joss is sure that their love can survive even her worst fears. But, this time, she may push Braden too far—and risk losing everything all over again.

Castle Hill was, like, the PERFECT novella. It overlapped events in other books in the series (and, therefore, we see characters we know from those other books too), and enriched and added so much to Joss and Braden's story at the same time. It packed a powerful, emotional punch in a short package.

Castle Hill takes us from Braden's proposal through the wedding and honeymoon and into the weeks following. We've seen bits of this story in On Dublin Street, Down London Road and in the upcoming Before Jamaica Lane, and now they're all coming together to paint this tumultuous and romantic picture.

It only took me a few hours to read the entire thing, and I was completely lost in the story the entire time. The best part about Castle Hill is that it knocked Braden down from the pedestal on which I had set him. Trust me - that's a good thing. Guys that are too damn perfect are a fallacy - they don't exist, and therefore make stories seem less believable. For once, Joss isn't the one to make some bad choices. I was so mad at Braden for a good half of the story, and I LOVED THAT. It humanized him and made him come to life even more. Now - NOW - Braden really is the perfect guy. Bravo, Samantha Young.

The only problem with Castle Hill is, it left me wanting even more!! :)

********************

Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #3), by Samantha Young
Published January 7, 2014
Publisher: NAL
Format: e-galley, provided by NetGalley
Genre:  Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever.

I think I will buy anything that Samantha Young writes. Seriously. Before Jamaica Lane is yet another homerun in the sexy, emotionally-charged On Dublin Street series. The men she writes about are complex and hot and... oh yeah. SCOTTISH. Yum. Their women are damaged, love-starved and desperately in need for someone to open them up and scoop their insides out. Before Jamaica Lane is a bit lighter than its series mates, but no less angsty and emotional.

Liv, having had to take care of her dying mother during her teenage years, missed out on the wild and craziness that goes along with being young. Now 26, she's terribly shy and inexperienced when it comes to guys. There's one guy in particular that she has her eye on, but she freezes every time she sees him. Liv decides to enlist the help of her man-whore BFF, Nate, to help educate her on the dating game. The lessons, though. go further than either of them had initially planned, and when commitment-phobe Nate finally puts the brakes on things, he becomes the personification of the saying, "you never know what you have until you lose it."

Olivia is slightly pathetic. She's painfully shy. I mean, PAINfully. It was embarrassing to even read at times. Hiding under restaurant tables, hanging with her boss to avoid the hot guy at the library - she is the queen of avoidance. But, when she's with Nate, she's totally different. Their banter is sweet and hysterical and endearing. They're super comfortable with each other. It's obvious that they're the very best of friends. But, it's also obvious that there's something else there too, ever since they first met.

Nate lost his first love to cancer, so he's determined that superficial hook-ups are the way to go from now on. The only real relationship he has with a girl is the one he has with Olivia. It's so obvious that he loves her, despite his efforts to keep her in the friend zone. But, when she propositions him. the temptation was too much. Soon, he and Liv are essentially boyfriend-girlfriend. But, when she points that out to him and confesses her true feelings, he freaks and this foreign, awful douchebag takes over. Gah - that scene between he and Liv was so emotionally-charged and sad. And incredibly frustrating.

Samantha Young has this uncanny ability to create these characters that just stay with you, you know? You have real feelings for them and you cheer for them and you want to throttle them and you cry with them. The characters are multi-dimensional and amazing on so many levels. Nate and Olivia were incredible characters, and their relationship with each other was so special.

Before Jamaica Lane is told from Olivia's POV. You know, I think this is my only complaint about Samantha Young. I love dual POVs, and most of her books are told from our female MC's POV. I love knowing what's going on in both MCs' heads. And I really would've loved to know what was going on in Nate's head during most of this book.

Although you could definitely get away with not reading Castle Hill: A Joss and Braden Novella (On Dublin Street #2.5) before reading Before Jamaica Lane, I really think it adds a lot to the backstory if you do. Events definitely do a lot of overlapping. And, there was one very important, pivotal scene in Castle Hill that we didn't get to see in its entirety. That complete scene is in Before Jamaica Lane, and I am so glad it was.

The sex is pretty hot, but there's not as much of it as there was in previous On Dublin Street series books. The story was the real star here. Make sure you block out a good chunk of time when you sit down to start Before Jamaica Lane. Because, once you do, you are not going to want to put it down.

Book #92 - Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1)

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1), Kresley Cole
ARC - Publish date:  October 2, 2012
384 pages
post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Started 8/14/12
Finished 8/19/12
4 STARS

I obtained an ARC of Poison Princess, the first in a new series by Immortals After Dark author, Kresley Cole, at a book signing, which was indeed providence, as I had really been looking forward to reading it anyway. My overall impression is that it is a really great, unique read, albeit a bit confusing and slightly disjointed at times. Evie's story is told in flashback form as she recounts the circumstances of her life over the past eight months to a serial killer who is looking to make her his next victim.

Our heroine, Evie Greene is getting ready to start her junior year of high school after spending the summer away at a mental institution. She has visions and sometimes hears voices - never good when you're a rich almost-16-year-old heir to a sugar cane plantation. On her first day back, she meets rogue Jackson Deveaux, a Cajun boy from the wrong side of the swamp. It's a love-hate relationship right from the start.

But then the world nearly ends in a fiery apocalypse, and surviving is now priority numero uno. Evie and Jack find each other and set off on a mission together, growing closer even while Evie tries to keep the vision-seeing and voice-hearing a secret.

The mythology of this story is steeped in astrology and Tarot Cards. Perhaps I wouldn't have been as confused as I was at times if I understood anything about those two things. As I do not, I need to rely on the story and the author's ability to explain things in the proper context. I felt that could've been done a bit better. Although Cole did explain some about Tarot, I felt it came a little too late in the story to be as helpful as I needed it to be.

However, I did think the world building and character development was done very well. The story mainly takes place in Louisiana. I really liked how Cole made the Bayou come to life for someone like me who has never been there. 

 Evie had lots of depth and emotion. She is this rich chick who is dealing with the belief that she's nuts, and she's trying to hide it from everyone. One would think she would be delicate and high-maintenance, but when the crap hits the fan and the world falls apart, Evie shows incredible strength and courage. 

Jack, I liked too, although a little less than Evie. He's very crass and rude, almost to a fault. I get that he's supposed to be rough and unapproachable and that it's supposed to be Evie that softens him. Sometimes I felt that he was almost too mean and irate, so that he was almost a caricature of "the bad boy." There were, however, moments when Jack balanced out, and I really felt like he cared about Evie. Those moments were too few and far between though. I desperately wanted Evie and Jack to figure things out so they could be together. I really loved those two when they were good to each other.

All-in-all, this was a solid four-star book. I will warn you - as good as it is, the ending is abrupt and cliffhangerish. It made me crazy! It's a good long wait until the next book is out. And, as my friends know, I have no patience.