The Killing Season by Meg Collett (Part 2 of Fear University)

** Coming Soon!! **
Release Date: 2/1/16




Review

*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

 I just read one of the best stories I've ever read in my life and I'm not even sure I can pull my head together long enough to write a review. I'm completely stunned. Shocked. In despair. This series just replaced one of my top 5. The same top 5 I've been looking to add to for over a year. Add to...not replace. What just happened and how am I going to survive until book 3 releases? I can't remember the last time I felt like this.

And where do I even begin? The Killing Season reeks of dark seduction. And have I ever loved a female protagonist this much before?! This book has my head spinning! Everything in it is intense and heated! The witty bantering is actually witty and holy hell I'm in love with a bad ass alpha female and an alpha male who is just as deadly and twisted. There may be an abundance of hard core heroines and their snarky attitudes in the lit world, but they can go home because Ollie takes the cake.  And Luke is every womans darkest desire. He doesn't provoke cute butterflies. He consumes with destruction and fire.

And Sunny, Ollie's best friend and the other point of view presented throughout the story, is so sweet and just the right amount of geeky hilarity that falling in love with her is only natural. However, even she is tainted by the madness and fear. No one in this story is left unscathed and in tact. Every single character in this book maticulously evolves into someone stronger and foreboding. 

I don't know how I'm going to make it until the next book.  It kept my heart racing  and adrenaline surging with twist and every, single shocking revelation. The Killing Season is a dark, intoxicating gem.  It's the reason reading a book becomes an addiction.  I've hopelessly been consumed by it and honestly do not know what to do with myself. Only one other author has ever had this effect on me. Ever.

I am afraid to read another book right now because I'm that person who tries to always maintain an open mind and much to an authors disdain I refuse to leave a bad review.  I know all reviews help, but I can't hurt someone's feelings. Despite my lack of reviews last year I had read at least 150 books searching for a series to annihilate my senses and satiate the need to completely lose my heart and soul to another world. Fear University stunned me because as hard as I've searched to grow a top 10 favorites list, this series just replaced one of the top 5 I've held in such high regard for so long. Before now I thought that feat altogether impossible. I can't seem to move past that.

5 Stars aren't enough.

The Mercy Trilogy by Lucian Bane

It started as a project to continue the charitable works of her deceased father. But when Mercy finds the man she believes her dad intended to help, it turns into a game of pain, lust, and danger. 

The second Sade meets Mercy the do-gooder, his desires get busy plotting to condition her for his sadomasochistic appetites. 

Everything goes according to his plans until he finds himself tied up and at the mercy of this woman who is nothing like the victim he'd mistaken her for. 
**** 
She danced innocently into my Dark embrace --and blinded me with her relentless Light. ~Sade 
**** 
***WARNING*** 
There are scenes of abuse via memory and in current story situations. The author took as much care as he could, while maintaining authenticity in these scenes.


REVIEW


In a story I need to see a connection between the primary characters that is filled with flaws, obstacles, and conflict.  I want a journey leading to revelations of a character's depth and events that test the connection between two protagonists. There needs to be friction, denial, and sometimes havoc wreaking hatred.

The Mercy Trilogy exceeded these expectations and filled my world with unadulterated bliss. These words have the power to shock, intrigue, and absolutely shred a person's emotions.
The relationship between Sade and Mercy is utterly chaotic and creates the most intense reading experience. I loved every aspect to the point of obsession. I literally read the all three books twice in a week.  Lucian Bane just landed a spot on my list of top 10 favorite Indie Authors. I cannot wait to venture into his other stories.

5 Stars!!!!!

Entrapped (Cursed Magic Series #3) by Casey Odell

Claire finally has a clue to her mother’s whereabouts, and she won’t let anything stand in her way this time. Not even the Syndicate, the fact that it could be a trap to lure her out of hiding, or the seemingly insurmountable mission she is currently tasked with: to find the other Star Children while she still can. 

The mark on her arm is slowly consuming her, body and mind, and it’s a race against time to complete her mission, locate her mother, and hopefully, find a way to stop her magic-- or at least slow its potentially devastating progression. 

And to top it all off, a certain silver-haired elf refuses to leave her alone.

REVIEW


My feelings on the third installment in the Cursed Magic Series are somewhat conflicted. I believe it's because of the darker, dystopic tone of the story. I also missed seeing more passion and flirtatious teasing between Farren and Claire. Over all I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hated Claire recklessness and selfishness not only in regards to her life, but Farren's as well. It sort of felt like a mass explosion took place and chaos reigned in this book. I think that could lead up to some epic events in the book to come. 5 Stars!

Mercy (A Darker Erotica) by Lucian Bane

As a sadomasochist, Sade just wants to get and give pain in manageable and somewhat legal doses. All Mercy wants is to walk in her father's footstep--a man who sacrificed everything to save her from a life of abuse and suffering. When Mercy finds an envelope on her doorstep leading her to Sade, the result is a collision of pain and mercy. For Sade, Mercy's kindness is dessert for his sadism, and her strength has his masochism hot and begging. Exploiting both for his own pleasure is his plan until he realizes that Mercy's got her own game. And playing it requires something he's never had.


Review

I am at a loss for words. I am literally stunned! I have seen this authors name too many times to count and now I understand the hype behind the name. As picky as I may normally be there is absolutely nothing for me to critique. This book left me euphoric and NEEDING more. Don't even question it. Buy it and READ IT! Lucian Bane is the author I've invested so much time in trying to find. I will, without a doubt, be reading everything he has ever written.

The Sea Queen (The Dark Queens Book 1)

Calypso, Queen of the Seas, is mad. Spitting mad. Ghosts of the dead are fouling her waters. She wants this problem fixed, and she wants it fixed now. Rushing off in search of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, to demand answers, she’s soon shocked to discover him bound and standing trial before a jury of his peers—for nothing less than murder. 

Calypso normally despises the beastly gods, all of them, but there’s something about seeing Hades bound as he is that gives her an evilly clever idea. Tired of being a virgin queen, she wishes to shed that boring image once and for all, and no one seems quite as fit for the task as the gorgeous and brooding Hades. Of course, there is the minor problem of murder to deal with, but Calypso is bound and determined to have her way. 

And when a dark queen gets an idea, nothing and no one can stand in her way… 

REVIEW

I desperately wanted to love this book. It is because I've read this authors work under a different name and she has written one of my favorite series: The Kingdom Series. Actually I've promoted the Kingdom series on my blog consistently for the past 8 months. I'm obsessed with it.

This book, however, is probably the least favorite I've read by her. I don't doubt that some will genuinely love it. There are parts that are too humorous to ignore and others that reek seduction. 

I just felt that the storyline lacked depth. Perhaps it was written only for the humor and sexual allure? That could very well be the case.  Ultimately,  the female protagonist, the infamous Calypso, obliterated my enthusiasm. More specifically it was the dialogue and the essence of her character. The context explains the purpose behind her nature , and it's fitting. It's just not for my interests personally. 

I give it 2 stars because I did find myself intrigued enough to finish the story and because I know that this author in particular is talented in bringing the essence of diverse characters to life with seemingly great ease. Though this particular book didn't fare well with my expectations I have every intention of reading the next book in the series.

2 Stars!

Fear University by Meg Collett

Best selling author Meg Collett retells the ancient Filipino legend of the aswang in this sexy, bone-chilling new series. 

I’ve always known I was a monster, and I don’t mean some teenage vampire shit either. 

My mother abandoned me when I was ten years old because I have a freakish mutant disease that makes me incapable of feeling pain. I bounced from one foster family to another because too many people like to test my medical condition in a game of “Try To Make Ollie Scream.” At sixteen, I killed a man for taking that game too far. 

Two years later, I’m still on the run in Kodiak, Alaska. Here, I’m the most dangerous person around, until I come face to face with a creature that should only exist in folklore. The monster is an aswang, and I, with my medical anomaly, am uniquely qualified to hunt the beast that haunts the night. At least, that’s what the two scarred, mostly crazy ’swang hunters tell me when they kidnap me and take me to Fear University, a school where young students learn to hunt and kill aswangs. 

I arrive at the university a prisoner, but I stay because I finally find my freedom. 

For once in my life, I belong. I’m needed. I make a home for myself inside the university masquerading as an old Alaskan prison. Something close to happiness warms my icy heart when I’m with my scarred, still mostly crazy tutor, Luke Aultstriver. For a murdering runaway like me, Fear University is a haven where I can put my skills to good use hunting monsters in the night. 

But when certain truths come to light and even more lies are exposed, I fear that I, Ollie Andrews, am the worst kind of monster of all. And, maybe, they should be hunting me. 


Recommended for mature readers due to violence, language, and sexual content.

REVIEW

Though I do my very best to to keep an open mind while reading, I find myself obsessively critiquing every story I come across and often times find it hard to find a story with an edge. And my reason for pointing this out would be? As a picky reader books are rarely passed onto my other book lovers as a highly recommended novel. This is the the fifth book I've read by Meg Collet and once again, I'd highly recommend Fear University to anyone without fear of negative backlash.

Fear University easily sealed the deal in Meg Collett becoming one of my top 10 "go to" authors when I can't find anything else to satiate my addiction for an alluring story-line.

I did not put this book down from the second I picked it up. It is immediately fascinating, well- written, and has a nicely developed plot. If you haven't figured out by the title, it's on the darker side of the paranormal genre and is borderline horror with it's explicit gory descriptions.

The female heroine, Ollie, is a snarky bad ass who pushes people to their limits. When it comes down to fight or flight she will fight every single time. 

The male protagonist, Luke, is cold and mysterious. His heart shattering secrets only made me crave more of him. 

I loved the twists, the deceptions, and the laid back but intense atmosphere. I also wouldn't mind another steamy scene or two in the book to come *hint hint*.

5 Stars!

A Pirate's Dream (Kingdom Series #11)

Nimue, daughter of Hook, is desperate to prove to her parents that she’s just as brave and as much of a pirate as they are. So when she serendipitously spies the hidden isle, she knows what she must do. A fearsome creature know as the Sea Hag is reputed to be hiding thirteen soul orbs within its sands and rumor has it any pirate brave enough to trespass there and snatch one up will be able to harness the power of the hag as his or her own. And that’s just what Nimue aims to do. But, as is often her lot in life, things go horribly awry. 

Sircco, King of the Sea, has no time for leggers. Those vile creatures in the Above also known as humans, and pirates are the worst of the lot. But when a feminine cry reaches his ears, his curiosity gets to him and against his better judgment finds himself offering the hag a trade for the wild, little legger with eyes of blue and hair the deepest color of his seas. 

Human and merfolk do not fall in love with each other. It is simply impossible. But in Kingdom, there is no such thing as the impossible, merely obstacles a certain fairy godmother can easily overcome with a little fairy magic and some help from a few friends in very high places… 

A Pirate’s Dream is the final book in the Dark Princess Saga. 

REVIEW

A Pirates Dream is truly a magical love story.  I adore the story line and the scenery is perhaps the most beautiful in all of the Kingdom series. I was swept away and utterly consumed by the romance between Nimue and Sircco. I loved every moment of it. Nimue is my favorite female protagonist out of all the others in Kingdom as she is the most fierce. I simply can't enough and couldn't be more thrilled about there being another installment in this series.

Her One Wish (Kingdom Series #10)

Nixie is a genie with a problem. She's just killed her Master. Kind of a big no-no for her kind, but really, what did the ruling council of genie's expect her to do? It's not like she was given a handbook on how to be a "proper genie". She was never even supposed to wind up in Kingdom. She'd been born on Earth, Chicago specifically. Her father also happens to be Tristan Black, which yeah, kind of an issue. Now they've thrown the book at her, locking her away in the most wild, most hidden part of Kingdom and only the bravest could ever have a hope of saving her from a prison of perpetual darkness. 

Robin Hood is a man on a mission. The tales have gotten this "hero" all wrong, he may not be the altruistic knight of yore, in fact, he might even be attempting a coup of his realm. 

But as we all know, in Kingdom, things are rarely as they seem...

REVIEW

Her One Wish gives a new meaning to "a love that transcends time." The story revolves around the daughter of Jinni and Pax and the notorious Robin Hood.

The beginning of Her One Wish is a tad on the dark side, giving birth to some sinister events that might give off the illusion that the story would continue with the same dark atmosphere.  Was I ever wrong!  This story made me question things on a philosophical level...going straight back to book 1 in the Kingdom series. If there story had never been written, would any of the couples we love in the Kingdom have ever been mated? So much that would Pax and Jinni have ever met for their daughter to have even been born? 

The plot of the story explodes with creativity and is it ever addicting! I couldn't have put this book down for the life of me. Marie Hall is by far one of the most amazing paranormal romance writers I've come across. I'll never get enough of these stories!

5 Stars!

The Hunt (The Wilds Book 2)

Living in the Wilds isn't any picnic, but I thought I had a handle on things: avoid the beasts and I won't get eaten, avoid the waterways and the pirates won't kill me, and stab every Dark Walker I see. 

That was before I found out Tiffy's friends were real and back when I’d never heard of the Skinners. Now my magic is on the fritz, and people are disappearing. Dax doesn't want me to kill any Dark Walkers, and avoiding the beasts is impossible when I live with one. Amidst all this, I've become the most wanted woman around.

REVIEW

The second book in The Wilds picks up after a dramatic ending in the first installment. Dal is just as witty as in the first book while Dax is both on edge and beginning to thaw that cold demeanor of his. It's not just the tension in the relationship between the two protagonists that makes this story interesting to me. The introduction of not one, but three sets of new species/foes is another intriguing component.  It's also the formation of alliances with the most unlikely people. 

Basically, if you enjoyed the first book in this series you will probably love this one!

4 Stars

The Wilds: Book 1 by Donna Augustine

My name is Dahlia but I’m called a Plaguer, a person who survived the Bloody Death. When the virus first hit the world, it ravaged the human race. I thought I was lucky to survive it but survival comes at a cost. Ever since the sickness, I see things and I’m hunted for these visions. 

Some seek me out because they want to keep their secrets safe. They don’t want the world to know the truth of what they are. Others, like Dax, want my knowledge. Dax has secrets of his own but as long as he helps me evade the Dark Walkers, he can keep them. There's only one place left for people like me, the Wilds, and only one man who can lead me there. 

This book is for all the Plaguers, the truth sayers branded and marked as liars, often hunted and sometimes forgotten. This book is for the girl who was right.

I wish I hadn't been so tired while writing my review for the first book in this series. Perhaps I would have been more thorough. Especially considering I already knew that the second installment exceeded my expectations.  I decided a rewrite is in order.

So, here's a little back story:
 
The Bloody Death is a plague that nearly wiped out the human race over 100 years prior to the story's timeline. Catching this plague and surviving it is as much a curse as it is a blessing and it is extremely rare. Those who survive unknowingly have magic and with their abilities they are able to recognize "Dark Walkers." Once it is revealed that a survivor, aka plaguer, exists they are locked away and tortured until they are dead. Society brands them insane, dangerous, and infectious.

The story is told by Dal's point of view and obviously she is a survivor, also known as a plaguer. She's rescued by Dax in book one, but it takes a while before he reveals his agenda. He owns a farm and is the leader of many people. He's rough around the edges and his interior appears to made of ice.

After abuse, isolation, and nearly being starved to death Dal is resolute about being toughest kid on the block. Obviously a nice match right? There are twists and turns in the dystopian that are pleasant and I enjoyed the over all storyline. Yes, the book needs work and the action scenes should be more thorough. I love Dal's character, but the scenes of her naivety conflict with her witty and dry sense of humor. Rest assured her character does grow exponentially in the second installment. The naevity versus the intelligence of her bantering is still a bit of an issue, but I really do like her.

Over all it has an atmosphere reminiscent of the Walking Dead, only it's better. There's magic and strange beasties roaming through night. There is certainly own unique flare. I personally consider the series worth reading. It may not make my top 5, but I did really enjoy it. I read both books in a day if that's any indication. 

4 Stars

Bent, Not Broken ( The Death Watchers Series Book 1) by Suki Sather

Delaney is an ordinary college student with good grades and a bright future in anthropology and a part-time job at the mall with her best friend for as long as she can remember. She loves music and is working to master Krav Magra. Her loving adoptive parents and three foster sisters are the center of her very routine, normal life.
Delaney also struggles with strange dreams and feeling lost and afraid, and though her Death Watcher is always right next to her, she has no clue he is there in the shadows protecting her, or the truths about her past that make it so important for her to be shielded in the stability and normalcy those who love her crusade to maintain around her.
The fight has only just begun in a war that has raged since the birth of humanity.
Can darkness conquer the light or will Delaney awaken and decide that ordinary is truly over rated?

                                                          REVIEW

The magic, mythology, and romance are very compelling components in Bent, Not Broken and reeled me in deeply enough that I had to finish the book in one sitting.

The beginning of the book felt a bit disorienting. Once everything was revealed, however, the beginning made complete sense. The further I ventured into the book the more I came to enjoy it. I found the tribal mythology surrounding the shifters and it's history captivating. What really garnered my attention was the complicated romance in the midst of all the chaos. I fell madly in love with Delaney and Malik. Their desperation in a hopeless situation and the way they kept finding their way back to one another kept me swooning and eager for more.

Bent, Not Broken offers something for everyone to enjoy: action, mystery, romance, mystical elements, and a heart breaking plot twist. There equal amounts of romance AND an interesting story-line. Those are a must for me. I literally cannot wait for book 2! 5 Stars!

 Purchase for 2.99 or get it Free on Kindle Unlimited!

Faeborne by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson (The Otherworld Series Book 9)

(A Stand Alone with NO CLIFFIES!)

Brennon Roarke is cursed. Stolen from his family at the age of sixteen and forced to use his glamour in the service of Eilé’s most malevolent goddess, Brenn has little room for warmth in his heart. For seven long years, he endured hardship and pain, only to escape and find his parents and sister murdered, his nephew left blind and broken. With the stain of dark magic on his soul, Brennon perseveres for the sake of his young ward, always worrying that one day the evil infecting his spirit will destroy him for good. 

Seren is an outcast among her own kind, ridiculed and ostracized by all but her mother. Born to the Fahndí tribe of the Weald, Seren’s glamour allows her to transform into a deer, but it also grants her the power to heal grave wounds. When she reveals this gift to her peers, jealousy and hatred drive them to murder, forcing Seren to either flee or fall victim to their malice. Taking on her animal form, Seren leaves her old life behind hoping to find a safe haven in a world that has only ever offered her hardship. 

Despite being worlds apart, Seren and Brennon are brought together in a single life-altering moment. When the doe Brenn shoots turns into a young woman before his very eyes, he has no choice but to bring her home with the hope that she’ll recover. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that Seren is quite capable of healing herself with glamour that may be able to cure his wounds as well, and not only the ones that run skin deep. 

                                                                       
                                                                  REVIEW

Though both are of Eile, Brenn and Seren practically live in different realms. Their traits, ideas, and knowledge from practically growing up on opposite sides of the world are completely foreign to the other. Secrets and vulnerabilities cause them to keep the other at bay while building a heavy anticipatory atmosphere. It is beyond emotional! 

 The character development in Faeborne is meticulous and well plotted.
The characteristics, thoughts, and behavorisms are in sync with one another, painting people who are weary to trust again and have endured traumatic pasts. They are resistant to break down their walls for fear of rejection, cosequences, and the ghosts of their pasts resurfacing. They are perfect for each other in every way!

The budding friendship between young Rori and Serena is most pleasant and so enjoyable to read. I smiled the entire time as they became familiar with one another.

With each book Johnson's writing skills improve impressively. There is such a diversity in word usage and though the details and scenery are abundant they are not excessive. They are explicit and entertaining. Book lovers will fall in love with Faeborne. 5 stars!

Purchase for 3.99 on Amazon!