Love Letters

Loved this one!

Full review to come closer to release date.

This is pretty good! I like Kitty's progression in this book.

I'm sorry, but I do NOT get this Kitty and Ben thing. They never have any relationship problems, ever. No bickering over silly things, no talking about feelings, nothing. And how often to you hear the phrase "I love you" come out of either of them? Never. Once, Kitty said it to Ben (at the end of the last book), and he's never once said it to her. The whole relationship seems so unrealistic. All they do is take care of pack stuff, radio show stuff and have sex. What kind of marriage is that?

The book was good, but it wasn't her usual kind of story. More focused on the romance, and there wasn't really any big crime/suspense/mystery to solve.

Full review to come.

Maybe a 3.5? More to come closer to release date.

Loved! Full review to come closer to release date.

Full review to come.

This was pretty cute!

Full review to come closer to release date.

Today I need y’all to bear with me as I take a little detour from the angsty world of Young Adult into the world of Regency Romance. Every once in awhile I need to escape into the stories of elegant balls, dashing dukes and feisty wallflowers. I’ve read a quite a bit of RR in my day, but my hands down favorites of the genre are Loretta Chases’ Lord of Scoundrels, Julia Quinn’s What Happens in London, and the entire Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt. I have a near fanatical obsession with the Maiden Lane series, actually. I own them, I’ve read them several times and each new book released is infinitely better than the last.

For the last three books we’ve had only glimpses of the mysterious Winter Makepeace, the manager of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children. Winter’s father founded the home many years ago, and when he died Winter took over and has devoted his life to the children of St. Giles. The original house the home was founded in burned to the ground, which turned out to be a blessing as the whole event caught the attention of the aristocracy. Now the home is being sponsored by several bored, yet wealthy, society ladies and thanks to their donations, a new home has now been built. The children’s needs are never ending, and the home could do with new patrons and more funding. This would require the very studious, straightforward, no-nonsense Winter to attend society functions and actually talk to people. The ladies are in serious doubt of his ability to make nice, and they assign Lady Isabel Beckinhall – Baroness Beckinhall – to teach Winter the ways of Gentlemen. Here’s a snippet of how their first lesson went:


“Now.” She had to stop to inhale, for oddly she found herself out of breath. “Now, I would like you to practice kissing the hand of a lady.”

She extended her hand, hopoing he wouldn’t notice the faint tremor of her fingers.

He paced toward her, took her hand, and bent over it. For a moment, his bowed head obscured their hands, but she felt the brush – warm and intimate – of his lips on her knuckles.

She gasped. “You’re supposed to kiss the air above the lady’s knuckles.”

He raised his head, still bowed over her hand, the position bringing his face much closer to hers. She could see tiny shards of gold in his brown eyes.

“Isn’t this a lesson in fliration?”

“Yes, but–”

He straightened to his full height. “Then it seems to me that a real kiss is more to the point than a pretend one.”

Only now did she see the shadow of a smile lurking at the back of his eyes.

Her own eyes narrowed as she attempted to withdraw her hand from his. His grip remained firm.

“Mr. Makepeace.”

And so it goes. Isabel attempts to teach him civility, and Winter demonstrates that he really does have manners, even if they aren’t what society deems appropriate. Winter is completely outrageous in these lessons, and not long after this scene they get into a conversation about lovers. Isabel is a widow and has taken a few discreet lovers since her husband’s death, but Winter decided to take an almost monk-like vow to his position at the home and openly admits to Isabel that he’s a virgin. O_O Whoa, buddy.

Isabel can’t understand her attraction to the ”plain, rigid schoolmaster.” She parties and flirts with some of the most handsome men in society, yet she can’t get Winter out of her mind. The only other man she has felt this connection to is the Ghost of St. Giles, whom she rescued off the street from a mob and spent one night nursing him back to health. She continues to run into the Ghost, and as she spends more time with Winter she starts noticing similarities between the two. She discovers Winter’s dangerous secret, and it thrills her to know the two men are one and the same. Well, until little girls are starting to disappear in St. Giles, and Winter risks his life to save them despite the heat that the Ghost of St. Giles is facing from the law. Isabel begs him to give up the Ghost, and Winter must soon decide if he should stay true to his vows to protect the innocent of St. Giles, or give in to the incredible passion he feels with Isabel.

Thief of Shadows is, in my opinion, the best book of the series so far. Winter is a tortured character, but in a unique and different way. He was raised to believe that the best way to conduct his life was to remain rigid and unattached to those around him. It’s only when he dons his Ghost outfit that he feels safe in letting his warm and passionate nature loose. He calls that half of himself the “animal” or the “beast,” but he feels so deeply about everything. Winter is such a swoon worthy hero. He has some of the best lines too, and I practically melted every time he told Isabel how much she meant to him. When they finally made it to the bedroom, Isabel may have started out as the tutor but it didn’t take long for Winter to figure out what he was doing. Again: O_O. Yowza!

What I love most about this series as a whole is how dark and gritty the books are compared to other books in this genre. There are no simpering maidens and ridiculous dukes, and while the the books all have happy endings, the characters have to work hard to get there. St. Giles isn’t a happy and safe place to live, let alone visit, and anyone who spends time there must be tough and strong-willed. Hoyt’s characters are mired in this world of gin sellers, whores and kidnapped children, but they somehow manage to make their own happiness among the dark streets of their home.

My Summary: Have I gushed enough for you yet? Winter and Isabel were truly a fantastic read. I loved the concept of the older, more experienced woman falling in love with younger, less experienced man. The humor in their battle of wills made the story even greater. If you were ever to venture into the world of Regency romance, I highly recommend all of the books in this series, with particular emphasis on Thief of Shadows. Winter is permanently taking a place of honor among my Favorite Heroes Hall of Fame. I LOVED this book!

My Rating: A+

Is this really the end of the Lucky Harbor novels?! Loved this one!

Review to come.

Chess’s carefully constructed life is about to explode. So far, she’s done a pretty admirable job of keeping all areas of her life separate and unaware. Her co-workers don’t know how connected to Downside she really is, and Downside only sees the witch part of her. She’s madly in love with Terrible, sort of friends with Lex (her drug source and past lover), and the two men barely tolerate each other because of Chess. And that’s only with the understanding that they don’t have to see or talk to the other. Then everything starts to get a little wonky. Chess gets invited to her boss’s wedding, and she convinces Terrible to come as her date. With one handshake, her boss knows Chess has performed some forbidden magic on Terrible and their once caring and respectful relationship is destroyed. An equal opportunity enemy is targeting Downside, killing citizens in both Bump and Lex’s territories, putting Chess squarely in the middle of the two men. Meanwhile, Lex has decided that if Terrible isn’t on his side, he shouldn’t be allowed to live at all. When Terrible refuses to be his second-in-command, Lex hires a deadly assassin to take him out. Life just got real interesting for Chess.

Chess continues to juggle her drug addiction, her worthiness issues and her inability to believe that she deserves to be happy with Terrible. Chess is The One for Terrible, and he wants her to go all in, kill all ties with Lex and just be with him. And maybe, maybe move in with him.

We hear all the time about tortured heroes and how swoon worthy they are. In this case, Chess is the tortured heroine and Terrible is the calm and steady one. Chess and her issues are so unique. She always refers to her horrible past that she’s had to overcome, and how far she’s gotten since those days. Someday I hope we get to learn what happened in Chess’s life that led her to be who she is today. Despite all the good things she’s done, and that we’ve seen her do, she still believes she has a dark soul and doesn’t deserve to be happy or loved. And then there’s drug addiction, which almost is like a character on it’s own. It seems like it’s such a pain in the butt to keep track of what you’ve taken and when. Even though she’s a fictional character, she’s given me a bit of insight into what it must be like to be a drug addict. For someone like me who has never struggled with that, it’s easy to say “just quit” but after five novels spent with Chess, I can imagine it’s way easier said than done.

Terrible is completely adorable and perfect, as always. He always manages to say and do the right thing, and he’s just so great that it doesn’t even bother me. If you could have told me ten years ago that I’d fall madly in love with a hero named Terrible that had mutton chops, I’d have laughed you out of the room. If you read the series for any reason, let Terrible be that reason. He’s utterly amazing.

In previous books, Chess’s work life and the “favors” she does for Bump have always coincided to be the same case. Or most of them have anyway. The Church and work part were relatively quiet in this book, and the mystery focused solely on the enemy targeting Downside through it’s drug addicts. Both Lex and Bump need Chess to solve this mystery, before there aren’t any citizens left to fight over in Downside. Her cases are always unnerving and interesting, and they add that extra bit of spice to the books that make them even more interesting.

I loved Chasing Magic. Although, I think I was hoping for more progression from Chess. She’s her own worst enemy, and sometimes I wish she would stop battling herself and just live her life. I desperately want to know how she’s going to end up. Is she going to keep working for the Church despite her strained relationship with her boss, or is she going to quit and do a sort of witchy private detective thing? Is she going to stop sabotaging her relationship with Terrible (I wanted to KILL her at one point in this book), and actually settle down and be happy with him? And most of all, is she going to kick her drug habit, or will that be what kills her in the end? Because of my personal set of values, I want her to quit taking drugs. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be happy for her if she gets her happily ever after with Terrible, but is never actually able to get rid of the pills. I guess that’s the magic of the series, and Chess’s character in particular. I can forget all that and love her anyway. All I know is that I’m a Chess and Terrible groupie, and Kane has a fan for life.

That's IT?! Please tell me that wasn't the ending for the whole series, and there's going to be more books and eventually everyone will have their happily ever after. If not, I might be slightly pissed. Because no one is who they are supposed to be with and Bitterblue isn't supposed to be alone.

Didn't really get her interest in Saf, and I seriously think she and Giddon belong together. Who's with me?!

Not as good as Divergent. I got a little tired of the angst and how withdrawn Tris was for most of the novel. I also hated the rift between her and Four.

This was also an excellent example of why I'm beginning to not like first person POV. Tris has to be a part of every scene in order for the story to progress, and it's just.. exhausting. For her and for me.

Also, did anyone else think the ending was a little anti-climactic?

Still a great story, it just wasn't as great as Divergent. Hopefully Tris and Four get a little time in the next book to just be!

When vampires first revealed their existence, everything about them was sensationalized. Humanity obsessed over vampire fashion, and the “who’s who” of the vampire world, making them instant celebrities overnight. No one seemed to care about how many vampires there were, or even trivial details as to how many humans have been killed in their quest for blood. Humans eventually got a clue, instigating a deadly war began between humans and vampires that lasted for thirty years. It was only after billions of human lives were lost that the two sides decided to negotiate peace. Humans would willingly donate so much blood a month, and the cities would deliver it to whatever Old Family (vampires that were born) patriarch was in charge of their city and the head of the Family would offer protection against rogue vampires (vampires that were made).

It’s now nine years after the war ravaged the earth, and Dawn has lost her entire family to the vicious vampire nature and holds little love for them. Up until a few months ago, her parents had served as Denver’s delegates to Lord Valentine, one of the most powerful vampires in existence. After they were killed on their way home from a weekly trip to his manor, Lord Valentine has specifically requested a new delegate, Dawn, and no one else will do. She has spent the last few months training for her position, including the proper way to wear a corset, and is now deemed ready to go solo on any future trips out of the city.

Tired of stressing about protocol and the art of negotiation, Dawn and her best friend Tegan sneak out to a party by the Wall the night before her first official day as delegate. After an attempted drugging, Dawn and Tegan find themselves on the trolley at night, alone, surrounded by vampires. Dawn does her best to fend them off, but despite taking one of them out, she isn’t strong enough to take them all and she and Tegan are about to become a midnight snack. They are rescued by a mysterious boy, Victor, who kills the rest of the vampires and then safely escorts them home. Assuming he was human, a particularly talented Night Watchmen, Dawn is shocked speechless when she arrives at Lord Valentine’s the following night and is greeted by none other than her savior of the night before. Victor Valentine, Lord Valentine’s son and heir. Everything Dawn has ever believed about vampires is thrown off kilter as Victor continually shows her that not all vampires are monsters. Denver is under attack, and it seems that rogue vampires aren’t the only monsters of the night. As Dawn and Victor grow closer, she realizes that the monster she’s always feared might be the only one who can save her life.

I received this book unexpectedly from the publisher over the weekend, and I was immediately intrigued by the vampire dystopian mix. It seems that vampire books have gone out of fashion recently, and I was excited to read J.A. London’s new twist on the subject. I could easily see how this New World that this mother-son writing team has created could become a reality, if vampires actually existed. There wasn’t anything complex about the setting, and I enjoyed reading a Dystopian novel that was set in a place that was different, but still familiar. Kids still went to school, parents still worked, people still ate at restaurants, but cell phones were a luxury and most people used the Trolley system or walked to where they needed to go. It seemed like the setting and world were there to support the characters and the development of the story, but weren’t the main attraction. Different enough to make it interesting, but familiar enough that I could concentrate on other things.

Told in first person, Dawn was really the heart of the story. I loved her progression from an angsty teen resenting her lot in life, to a delegate concerned with the state of her city, and finally to a girl in love with the boy who taught her that the world isn’t all black and white. Dawn is strong and independent, but she knows her limits and doesn’t rush into battle when she knows all she’ll do is make things worse. I LOVED that about her. Victor is sweet and charming, and is ready to take on the world if it means Dawn will be safe. I loved the glimpses of the internal battle between good guy and monster that he fought every single day. He loved Dawn, but he knew that whatever relationship that developed between them could end badly. He just couldn’t stay away, and that is the sweetest kind of love.

I really enjoyed Darkness Before Dawn. I loved the paranormal/dystopian mix, and I hope to see more stories like it in the future. I loved how the book revolved around the characters, primarily Dawn and Victor, and their growth throughout the story. I love the voice of this author team, their unique mix of serious and humor and I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. Highly recommend!

Full review to come closer to release date.