Soul In Darkness By: Wendy Higgins

I cannot tell y'all how excited I am to the chance to read and review this book early. I want to give a huge thank you to Wendy for getting this pretty sent out.
And I highly suggest all of you go out and grab yourselves a copy when it hits shelves February 12, 2019

I know the tear has just started too, but this has been my favorite 2019 has brought so far haha

Wendy is one of those authors for me that I rarely even need to read the book description to know I will be buying her next book. She could put a wrinkled napkin with some writing on it in my hand, and I would probably gush over it haha
I've gotten the chance to meet Wendy a few times now (She was actually the first author I ever went to a book signing for too)

But she is one of the nicest and most adorable people I have met. So don't think my review is bias or anything haha

People travel from afar to the small isle in the Aegean Sea hoping for a single glimpse of Princess Psyche. Their adoration for the mortal woman is so all-consuming that citizens begin to shower her with the very gifts and offerings they once left at the alter of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. 

But gods are known for their jealousy.

Cupid, the god of love, takes pleasure in causing strife and mischief in the lives of humans. He uses love as a weapon, humoring in the weakness of people at the whims of their feelings. When his mother Venus approaches him about punishing the human girl who dares to steal her offerings and affections from the people, Cupid gladly accepts. 

Psyche's punishment is to be given to a mysterious creature who only comes to her in the dark of night under the pact that she will never lay eyes on him. She is terrified of this stranger, who the oracle described as a serpent. Her mate, however, is masterful in his dealings with his bride. He takes his time, morphing her fears into different sensations completely. 

Based on the Roman/Greek mythology of Cupid and Psyche by Lucius Apuleius, New York Times bestseller Wendy Higgins brings the tale to life, weaving layers that show exactly how a sacrificial lamb can be enchanted by an unseen monster.

Awww this book. I always look forward to one of Wendy's stories. She writes the most amazing ones. Especially these re-tellings. Between this now, and the The Great Hunt duet. I cannot wait to see where her awesome head will go on the next retell.

But where to start on this actual book. It's easy to say it's designed wonderfully. Since the basis of it is already laid out so well. But the way Wendy spun it. How she created it into her own story was great. She gave so much more depth and feeling to these ancient characters. And I loved getting swept up in this book. And boy did I.
Less then 2 days pretty much is all it took. And that was having to work and sleep mixed into my reading time haha.

My favorite thing about this book by far was Psyche herself. If you've read the actual tale of her and cupid.... she was a kind hearted beautiful girl. But this version and expansion of her just made it that much better. She was fierce and strong. And so kind and caring. And you couldn't help but want to cheer for her with each accomplishment. And gasp at each challenge. Maybe because she's a mortal in this story. And that mortality shines though and can be relatable. She isn't some crazy mystic being the way any of the immortals are. And she still has those human characteristics that allow us to show sympathy and relate.

Cupid wasn't so bad either haha. I loved his personality, the quick whit and charm he shown. And yet how protective and loyal he could be to those he loved. Plus he's a God of love after all. He has that whole hot and brooding thing going for him too haha.

But also something else I really enjoyed in this book. Was the sense of looking deeper than what you can see. To trust yourself and your instincts. And not let what other tell you, or even your own mind sway you. That even when we have an option of something in out heads, it doesn't make it so.
That idea of blind love. That actions and our feelings are so much more powerful then our opinions.

All in all. I have to say this book just had it all for me. The romance, suspense, cunning, and the flow of just an amazing story.

I cannot wait for this book to be out so everyone can get the chance to read it. It should be one that's at the top of your to buy list ❤

I without a doubt give SOUL IN DARKNESS
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Torn (Wicked Trilogy #2) By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Hey ya'll *Waves

I'm so happy to get to share my review of Torn with you today.

I absolutely FLOVE the Wicked Trilogy so far, and was so so excited to get an ARC of Torn.

Jen writes such amazing books and I couldn't wait to dive back into the Wicked world with Ivy, Ren and especially Tink ;)

I need to also send a huge thank you to Inkslinger PR for sending this wonderful ARC to me. KP and the whole team there are so amazing, and I can't think them enough for all they do for us bloggers :D

Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same. 

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her. 

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him? 

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

OMG ya'll... This book! So so so much love for this book. It filled in all those Wicked shaped holes in my chest so perfectly haha.

Over a year, I've waited for this book to be here, and it finally is!!!

And it was great. I got all my favorite characters i had been dying for, and got so much more to a story that while didn't leave me hanging... left me hanging (does that make sense?)

i have such a fun history with this series and couldn't be more excited to see how this one played out.

And Jen did not disappoint one bit. The only thing I could possibly complain about was that book three didn't start the minute Torn ended hehe!

Ok so to give you a little back story on how my love for this series came about...

So when Wicked came out last year I sort of missed the memo that it was being published Indi. And thus started an all day trip going from bookstore to bookstore searching for this dang book. Seriously I went to 2 different BAM's and about every other place I knew sold Jen's books in the past... And NONE of them could even pull it up in they're systems except for the audio book. Thinking I had the release date wrong somehow I checked Amazon and of course, they had both the Ebook and paperback. So I, being the weirdo that I am 1-clicked the Ebook and then Amazon Primed my paperback version. Actually this book was the first thing I ordered with my prime account and started my addiction into all things two day shipped and my dwindling pay checks haha!

Well after I finally got the thing ordered though I started pawing through Facebook... Of seriously right there on a bunch of the posts is all the buy links, and duh! It's INDI published blah blah blah. Yeah I felt like a total dork

But anyways... So it took me like a day and a half to finish Wicked and I loved it! But waiting over a year to find out what was gonna happen was killer. I mean I literally was dying to get back into that world. And as much as I love all of Jen's books, Wicked was by far one of my top favorites behind the Lux books, and I was quite impatiently waiting... and waiting hehe

When I got the email from Inkslinger asking asking if I would like to be considered for an ARC, I jumped on the chance. Anything to get me some more Tink. And Torn really acted as a great distraction from life right now.

Back at the end of February beginning of March we found out my mom had a pretty sizable tumor on the pituitary gland in her brain, and that it was causing a pretty severe case of hydrocephalus causing her to have have problems walking (That we originally thought was from a fall months before) (She also got so bad she eventually had to be in a wheelchair to get anywhere) and pretty severe memory loss that we had originally thought was possible early onset Alzheimer's or Dementia.

To give you an idea of what was going on. I just turned 23 this past June. I'm a nanny to 2 kids while I finish up a degree in biology while trying to get into a good Physical Therapy program after.

I would be in class till almost 12 or 1 in the afternoon and then be at work from 3-8 at night. Come home, cook, clean, and do homework or study. It left very little time for anything else and my mom was almost 100% dependent on me. I stopped working out, I stopped hanging out with people, I stopped blogging even. I was under an extreme amount of stress, and it effected a lot of my life.

And while my mom has gotten a lot better after the original surgery...She goes back in this Thursday for a 2nd one to remove the rest of the tumor. And while the first surgery was risky, the doctor went in through her nasal cavity which made for a less invasive surgery. But this time they will have to do a full go through the head surgery. So to say that things have been a little stressful again would be an understatement.

So getting lost in a good book for a little while was something I needed.

And man was Torn good.

It picked right up where Wicked left off and I found myself falling right back into that world so easily.

So much was going on in this book. At the end of Wicked so many things for Ivy had changed and we get a good amount of those things explained much more this book.

I found myself trying to guess what was going happening in this one more than I do in most books, and that's saying something because I am one of those annoying readers who will guess up a storm on what will happen. I'm sure you've heard me go on and on before about my"book mojo" and that's just the term my friends and I have come to call my weird way of usually guessing what's gonna happen in a book. Well this book seriously had me guessing so much. And i'm kinda proud to say that I guessed almost all the things in this book!!!!! And I had no one to even bounce my ideas off of (the sad life of a blogger with an ARC sometimes... NO ONE has read it but you in your book friend circle)

But I really like books that keep me guessing like that. They make it fun to read and then when it comes to a part that you had been speculating about and you find out if you were right or wrong it's fun.At least to me. But I'm a total sucker for guessing games of sorts in general. (Yes, I am also that person who shakes her Christmas presents to see if I can figure out what they are)

I also really liked how Jen continued to develop the characters in this book, while also some adding some new faces to the mix. And man did she up the Tink-ness! I absolutely love that little guy so much, and he brought just as much humor and even seriousness at times to this book if not more than Wicked. All his antics add those needed moments for Ivy to just take a brake from the craziness, and be able to bounce everything happening off someone who knows a little of the inside info on the Fae world.

Plus his relationship with Ren offers quite the comedic side to the book.

Something else about this book that I really liked. And you may think I'm crazy for saying it... Is how mad I would get. I mean there were parts of this book where I wanted to just reach in and strangle a few characters. Or throw my Kindle across the room. Both sounded like solid plans at a few points haha.

And the reason why I say I like that the book had moments like this for me, is because it means the writer has put a lot of emotion in it. When you make me feel mad for a character or something similar for the story in general, it means that that author has created such a detailed multi dimensional story that I feel like I'm being sucked right into it. 

Jen does this with pretty much every book I've read from her. And her way of creating such amazingly detailed paranormal words just astounds me.

Like tonight while I was writing my review my niece, mom, and I were watching The Fifth Wave. And while I've read the book and loved the movie, all I could think about was Daemon, and the Lux series. (I mean who wouldn't when watching hot alien movies hehe)

Her books are just written in ways that really draw the reader in, and while they are books with these paranormal creatures like the Fae. They are so well written and so realistic, that I feel like if I were to go to New Orleans I should be watching my back for an evil Fae to come and try to feed on me or something. She ties fantasy and reality together to make this perfect mesh of everything good in a great read.

Plus the romance in this one is H.O.T.T.

I'm already a huge fan of Ren and Ivy. And Jen did not disappoint on all the warm fuzzies.

She always writes the super sexy scenes with still keeping the books from turning into overtly romantic books. Don't get me wrong. I love a good bow chicka wow wow time. But with these paranormal NA books, I also want all the action and well paranormalness (If that isn't a word it sure as heck is now) and Jen gives us tones in Torn. Between the Fae problem growing to epic proportions and some pretty interesting new stuff with Tink we get a good dose of it all.

And don't even get me started on the level of epic creepiness the bad guy in this one has. Talk about a good bad guy. The Fae prince doesn't quite have that same level of "bad" that some of Jen's other baddies have had in the past. (Probably used the word BAD way to much right there) But this one makes up for it in his sheer level of uber creep.

He kinda made my skin crawl a coupe times. Especially during one part where I was guessing what was going on, and just wanted to scream it out like Ivy might actually hear me and believe me or something. (Yeah I know. I'm weird)

but anyways he's a total creepy creep. And I give Jen some serious props for writing such a character.

And speaking of characters... Guess I should really get into talking about Ren and Ivy. Maybe even just a little more of everyone's favorite Brownie too ;)

So let's start with Ivy.

She is so fierce and awesome. I mean I can only wish I was as bad-A as that girl is.

She knows how to fight. She can throw a wooden steak like a pro. She loyal to a fault.She has the most awesome red hair, even if she thinks it's a pain. And shes super beautiful.

Ivy is put into an extremely difficult place in this book though.And is faced with some hard decisions to make, that effect her along with the entire world. (No pressure!)

decisions that she kinda has to make on her own. Because if anyone else knew about them they could get her killed.

Something else I really liked was how committed to her duty as an Order member Ivy was. Even after the Fae prince kicked her butt ten ways to Friday, she still jumps right back into things and does what she can to continue keeping everyone safe. And on top of all that she tries going to college classes and living a semi normal life the best way she can. Juggling that much stuff takes skills (And while she doesn't necessarily achieve it all, she still tries)

Ivy get's thrown some serious curve balls in this one and I like that while she keeps pushing through everything you get to see that she is human and that things do still effect her. No matter how hard she wants to, she can't do it all alone. And her putting her trust in others hands is a big step she makes in this book.

Also when Ivy sort of hits rock bottom essentially. She realizes it and knows she has to overcome it. She knows it will take work. And that the road ahead won't be easy. But she accepts it and relies on the people she cares about to get through it by her side.

And one of those people at her side is my honey Ren.

The tattooed cutie with the adorable floppy hair, and some serious ninja skills.

He's back and just as hot as ever. And his feelings for Ivy are real upfront and present almost the entire book.

Poor Ren really went through some difficult things growing up, and as we learn more about him the more we feel for him.But also love him as well.

He's just one of those characters that you just fall for quickly. He's kinda a smart a**, and has these amazing dimples that appear. And a smirk! I love a fictional guy with a smirk and dimples (Heck, I love a real guy with those too haha)

And much like Ivy, Ren is incredibly fierce and loyal to not only the Elite but to the people in his life he cares about. He's been trained to be good at what he does, and he uses that to his advantage when needed.

But Ren is also this insanely soft soul who, when he finds someone he cares for, puts everything into it. He's so gentle and loving towards Ivy. Even when she comes to him with some crazy crazy things. And his compassion for people is something I really liked. For such a harsh Job he's given he still manages to retain his humanity.

But Ren is seriously pushed in this book. I just wanted to wrap the big guy up in hug.

He lets so much just slide off his shoulders, but Ivy really does drop a mother load of stuff on him,and we see that thick outer shell of his sort of crack a few times.

He makes mistakes, but still tries his hardest to make it all right in the end.

And for someone who's duty is usually put before anything else. He realizes just how important other things in his life can be. And that not everything he was taught was right, may not necessarily be. That there are shades of grey between all the black and white.

Also his relationship or hate-relationship with Tink in this book was AH-MAZ-ING.

I laughed so hard a few times at the banter between him and the tiny brownie. Both care so much for Ivy and just want what is best for her. And both whip snarky quite hilarious barbs at the other just for the fun of it.

there is some major Tink-ness going down in this book, and one part in particular (you'll know it when you read it) had me about in tears laughing so hard.

But something else about Ren and Tink is that we get to see a side to them that isn't all sarcasm and snark. They figure out that they can actually help each other even if they don't like it. And I'm totally calling BROMANCE! DEAD AHEAD!

#TeamTen or #TeamRenk

Pretty much this book had everything Wicked started and more. It explained so much more to this story while infuriatingly leaving us hanging on a few things. But hey the ending didn't make me want to go all rage-y because I was left on the precipice of a pointy cliff. It did leave me wanting even more though, and already counting days until summer of next year.

I can't tell ya'll how much I really loved this book. I know this review was a bit tame for me. But this book was absolutely an awesome one. And is still by far one of my favorite series Jen has written.

I over the story line, the creepy bad guy, the characters in general, and the most adorable supporting brownie a book could ever have.

I can't wait to see how it all is going to end in Brave (And can I ask? I know at the end of the book Jen sets up the reasoning behind book 3's title... But is there also maybe something there to do with Ren's whole reference to Merida from the Disney movie Brave? Because that would be really cute)

I without a doubt give TORN

*****5  Stars*****

Release Dy Launch: Torn (Wicked Trilogy #2) By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

   

The highly anticipated second book in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Wicked Trilogy is available today! Be sure to grab your copy of TORN!

   

Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in on Ivy, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

iBooks ** Amazon ** Kobo

 

"You need this book. You need this series. It's paranormal at its best. It's New Adult at its best...Can I give this book more than 5 stars? I would if I could." ~Valerie, Stuck in Books

EXCERPT:

I lifted my right hand, reaching for my iron stake out of instinct, even though I knew it would do no good against the prince. “You shouldn’t do that.” His voice was deep with what reminded me of an English accent. “I know you want to, but it would be very, very unwise of you, Ivy.” My hand twitched. Creepy Prince smiled slightly. “Your friend has been very helpful.” That got my hackles up. I slid my sunglasses onto my forehead and forced my tone to stay calm and level. “I’m sure she has. Speaking of Val, happen to know where I can find her?” His lips curled in a semblance of a smile as he stepped closer. The prince was tall, taller than Ren, who was pushing six foot two. My entire back stiffened as I forced myself to hold my ground, even though every instinct demanded that I run and run super fast, because he had almost killed me once before. Correction. He would have definitely killed me if he hadn’t realized what I was and had, I guessed, healed me. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, instead of answering my question, his pale blue eyes fixed on mine. My hand curled into a useless fist. “That is extremely creepy to hear.” That cold smile returned. “Why don’t we talk? There are seats across the way.” “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” The slow smile increased but never reached his eyes. “Oh, I know it is.” Fine hairs rose on my arms. “What exactly can you do right now?” he said in the same coldly polite voice. “Refuse me?” Creepy Prince laughed, and it wasn’t a bad sound. Again, it was something that was just cold, as if he were mimicking what a human would do. “You can’t.” “I can.” My palm itched to grab the thorn stake secured under my pant leg, but I held still. I might be reckless, but I wasn’t stupid. “Really? I will have to beg to differ on that. You see, humans surround us. So many of them, and I have an extraordinary appetite.” His eyes appeared to glimmer as his gaze slithered from the top of my curly head down to my toes. “A rather impressive appetite for many, many things.” “Okay. First off, ew.” My lip curled. “Secondly, I don’t want to hear about any of your appetites.” One dark eyebrow rose. “Oh, but you should know that I could kill twenty of these humans in less than five seconds and feed on the rest, leaving them to believe that it was this little red-headed girl who murdered these innocent people.” His voice dropped even lower as he leaned in and icy air brushed my cheek. “You deny me this, those lives will be on your hands, little bird.” Anger flushed hotly as my eyes met his. There wasn’t a single part of me that doubted anything he said. He had me. God, I hated to admit it, but he had me.  

"Drama! Action! Romance! Twists! Torn had it all...Torn was a perfect continuation of the Wicked Saga." ~Kim, Kimberlyfaye Reads

       

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans…

Don’t miss the first title in the series, WICKED!

   

 

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

       

Cover Reveal: Inspire and Inflict By: Cora Carmack

AHHHHH I am so excited for this cover reveal today. Inspire is one of my favorite Cora Carmack books. It's actually the book that introduced me to her amazing writing and I cannot think of a better way to show my love than to share the new cover to Inspire and the even newer cover to the 2nd book in the series Inflict.

Hope ya'll love them as much as I do :D

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the dual cover reveal for Cora Carmack’s Muse Series! INSPIRE and INFLICT are New Adult Paranormal Romance novels and are book 1 and 2 in the Muse Series. INFLICT is due to be released in January 2016! These beautiful covers were designed by Regina Wamba of Mae I Design. Be sure to grab your copy of INSPIRE today!

 

Amazon eBook ** Amazon Paperback

INSPIRE (Book 1):

Kalliope lives with one purpose. To inspire. As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real. Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal. Her presence may inspire genius. But it breeds madness, too.  

And check out the gorgeous cover for INFLICT, coming January 2016!

 

About INFLICT (Book 2):

Wilder Bell made a dangerous bargain... For a chance at love, he gave up his life. History knew Kalliope as an ancient Greek muse, but to Wilder, she was simply the woman he wanted to fall asleep with every night and wake up next to every morning. He made a deal with Hades, but the only thing the Lord of the Underworld deals in is death. Now Wilder is wasting away in a cold and wretched afterlife, waiting for Kalli to come for him. She will come. He has to believe that. Because the alternative is worse than death. Kalliope lived her entire existence knowing that she was both a blessing and a curse to anyone she encountered. Wilder was no different. She loved him, and she got him killed. Now to get him back, she’ll have to face a scheming god, a perilous task, and death itself. But before it’s done, the Underworld will take more from her than she ever thought possible. To be made whole, all must first be lost.        


 
About Cora Carmack: Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She’s done a multitude of things in her life– boring jobs (like working retail), fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). Raised in a small Texas town, she now lives in New York City and spends her time writing, traveling, and marathoning various television shows on Netflix. In her books, you can expect to find humor, heart, and a whole lot of awkward. Because let’s face it . . . awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook **Newsletter **Author Goodreads**

INSPIRE Goodreads ** INFLICT Goodreads