Review: To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

Title: To Kill a Warlock (Dulcie O'Neil #1)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Publisher: Self
Release Date: July 3, 2010
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.

Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.

Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

My Review

I had come across H.P. Mallory’s other series, Jolie Wilkins, whose main character is a witch, about eight months ago and ordered it for the library where I work. I started reading the first book in the series, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, but I just couldn’t get into it. So when I came across Mallory’s Dulcie O’Neil series, I was a bit apprehensive, but I thought I would give it a chance. I am pleased that I did.

Review: The Novice by Taran Matharu (ARC) #yalit

Title: The Novice (Summoner #1)
Author: Taran Matharu
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

My Review

The Novice felt like it was a video game trying to be a book, which should have been perfect for me. Every time I picked up the book and read about orcs, mana and demons in the students' roster, I picked up my newest gaming obsession - Final Fantasy Record Keeper. This meant that this book took me about three times longer than necessary to read.

Waiting on Wednesday (104): Last First Snow by Max Gladstone

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Last First Snow (Craft Sequence #4)
Author: Max Gladstone
Publisher: Tor Books (Macmillan)
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Forty years after the God Wars, Dresediel Lex bears the scars of liberation—especially in the Skittersill, a poor district still bound by the fallen gods' decaying edicts. As long as the gods' wards last, they strangle development; when they fail, demons will be loosed upon the city. The King in Red hires Elayne Kevarian of the Craft firm Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao to fix the wards, but the Skittersill's people have their own ideas. A protest rises against Elayne's work, led by Temoc, a warrior-priest turned community organizer who wants to build a peaceful future for his city, his wife, and his young son.

As Elayne drags Temoc and the King in Red to the bargaining table, old wounds reopen, old gods stir in their graves, civil blood breaks to new mutiny, and profiteers circle in the desert sky. Elayne and Temoc must fight conspiracy, dark magic, and their own demons to save the peace—or failing that, to save as many people as they can.


Three Parts Dead was one of my favorite finds from last year, and although I wasn't equally as in love with the sequel, I'm still looking forward to continuing in the series. I still need to read the the third in the series, Full Fathom Five, but that will just get me more excited for this one!

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier (ARC)

Title: Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Trilogy #1)
Author: Kerstin Gier & Anthea Bell (Trans.)
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute....

My Review

You can read Kayla's review HERE.

I read Gier's first trilogy The Ruby Red Trilogy and really enjoyed it. Considering I'm not generally a time-travel fiction fan, this was quite a feat. Gwyneth from Ruby Red was just so spunky and had such a silly, witty humor I had to smile while listening. Liv from Dream a Little Dream has the same spunk and humor so I just knew that I was going to enjoy it just as much. And if I had to wrap up the entire book into one word it would be "cute". In fact, in my two pages of notes on the book, I called it "cute" 6 times. I need a thesaurus apparently.

I do wonder if the slightly British humor is due to Gier's writing or Anthea Bell's translation, however. Bell translates both The Ruby Red Trilogy and Dream a Little Dream so either is possible. Either way, I want to be best friends with both of them. I did miss the narrator from The Ruby Red Trilogy, because her crisp British accent just added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

Regardless, I smiled throughout pretty much the entire book. I loved Liv's snark in her head like calling one of the gorgeous boys in school "Shaving Fun Ken." I did roll my eyes a few times about how much of an inquisitive idiot Liv was, but it advanced the cute story (See? I can't help myself). I giggled about how stubborn Liv was in refusing to believe in the supernatural. She's also a little more pragmatic than the normal YA heroine, because she and her sister both refuse to reduced to ninnies at the sight of a cute boy.

There is a little bit of a meandering plot that doesn't really go anywhere until the end. But I was so amused by Liv's humor and all the happenings in her family, I really didn't care. I was a little leery of the "Gossip Girl" type gossip blog at the beginning, but it worked its way into the story without feeling too much like a clone.

If you want a light and cute YA read with some British humor then pick Dream a Little Dream up. I'll definitely be picking up anything Gier writes and Bell translates in the future.

- 3.5/5 Stars -

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Fishpond | Google Play | IndieBound


To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book for reviewing purposes through the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way affected the outcome of my review.

Blog Tour (Guest Post & #Giveaway): Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier

Today on the blog, I'm a part of the Dream a Little Dream blog tour for Mac Teen Books. I'm so excited to share with you a guest post from Kerstin Gier and a giveaway provided by our friends at Macmillan! I hope you enjoy reading her guest post as much as I did!



Title: Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Trilogy #1)
Author: Kerstin Gier & Anthea Bell (Trans.)
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute...

Guest Post

On Dreams
Kerstin Gier
I’ve always been fascinated by dreams. I’m convinced that in our dreams we not only process what we have experienced during the day, but that we also make a mystical connection to another world, to the depths of our souls and to the secrets hidden from us when we are awake. This is extremely fascinating for the storyteller in me, and also because I love secrets more than anything else!

Cover Reveal: Deception by A.S. Fenichel #Giveaway

Title: Deception (The Demon Hunters #2)
Author: A.S. Fenichel
Publisher: Lyrical Press (Kensington)
Cover Reveal Organizer: Pump Up Your Book!
Release Date: July 7, 2015
When Demons threaten Regency London, only a Lady can stop them.

Lillian Dellacourt is beautiful, refined and absolutely lethal. She’s also the most feared and merciless demon hunter in The Company. She’s come a long way from the penniless seamstress’s daughter sold to the highest bidder, and it wasn’t by trusting a man, let alone an exiled Marquis with more on his mind than slaying the hellspawn...

For Dorian Lambert, Marquis de Montalembert, being sent to keep track of Lillian is no mean task. He’s wanted the fiery vixen since he first heard of her five years ago. But wooing the lady while fighting the demon uprising is no easy feat, especially when the lady’s tongue is as sharp as the Japanese sai blades she favors for eviscerating the spawn of hell.

These two will have to learn to trust each other fast, because the demon master is back, and he’s planning to turn Edinburgh into a living hell...

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo


About the Author

Early Review: Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier

Title: Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Trilogy #1)
Author: Kerstin Gier & Anthea Bell (Trans.)
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute....

My Review

First off, I want to say that I think there has been a cover change. Since I'm not sure, I'll just include it in the review here:


Having read the book, I must say that I prefer the purple one a little bit more (except for the butterflies), but I totally understand the newer one from a marketing standpoint.

I've never read the Ruby Red series by Gier, but I own them all because the premise was interesting. I'm a terrible person and still trying to make time to read them. Anywho, I'm really glad that I didn't put off reading Dream a Little Dream. It was a light, fun fantasy that was such a blast to read.

Review: Evernight by Kristen Callihan

Title: Evernight (Darkest London #5)
Author: Kristen Callihan
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Acquired Via: NetGalley
Once the night comes . . .

Will Thorne is living a nightmare, his sanity slowly being drained away by a force he can't control. His talents have made him the perfect assassin for hire. But as he loses his grip on reality, there is no calming him—until he finds his next target: the mysterious Holly Evernight.

Love must cast aside the shadows . . .

Holly cannot fathom who would put a contract on her life, yet the moment she touches Will, the connection between them is elemental, undeniable—and she's the only one who can tame his bouts of madness. But other assassins are coming for Holly. Will must transform from killer to protector and find the man who wants Holly dead . . . or his only chance for redemption will be lost.

My Review

This review will not contain spoilers for Evernight but will possibly contain spoilers if you have not read the previous books in the series.

Darkest London is one of my favorite steampunk/historical romance series out right now. Will Thorne and Holly Evernight may have just been my favorite couple yet!

I felt so bad for both Thorne and Holly - Holly for being forced into hurting people, Thorne included, and Thorne for being tortured into a monstrous being and a painful wreck of who he used to be. From the beginning, these two make for an interesting and amazing story. The novel almost immediately begins with a bang, with Holly protecting herself from Thorne and other assassins trying to kill her (because Thorne blames Holly for his current maddened state). Then, once Thorne realizes that Holly can calm him and make the metal retreat, they make a deal. Thorne will protect Holly from whomever is trying to kill her, and Holly will calm and soothe Thorne from the madness and metal.

Waiting on Wednesday (64): The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: The Witch With No Name (The Hollows #13)
Author: Kim Harrison
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Rachel Morgan's come a long way from the clutzy runner of Dead Witch Walking. She's faced vampires and werewolves, banshees, witches, and soul-eating demons. She's crossed worlds, channeled gods, and accepted her place as a day-walking demon. She's lost friends and lovers and family, and an old enemy has become something much more.

But power demands responsibility, and world-changers must always pay a price. That time is now.

To save Ivy's soul and the rest of the living vampires, to keep the demonic ever after and our own world from destruction, Rachel Morgan will risk everything.


I just finished listening to The Undead Pool on Saturday, and I can't wait to see how this decade-long series will come to its conclusion. Admittedly, I have struggled with this series, as Rachel drives me up the wall at times, but Kim Harrison has a great touch in world-building and character growth. I really hope that Rachel, Ivy, Jenks, Trent, Al, and even Newt all get happily ever afters (pun intended).

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (55): The Dark World by Cara Lynn Shultz

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: The Dark World (The Dark World #1)
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Paige Kelly is used to weird--in fact, she probably corners the market on weird, considering that her best friend, Dottie, has been dead since the 1950s. But when a fire demon attacks Paige in detention, she has to admit that things have gotten out of her league. Luckily, the cute new boy in school, Logan Bradley, is a practiced demon slayer-and he isn't fazed by Paige's propensity to chat with the dead. Suddenly, Paige is smack in the middle of a centuries-old battle between warlocks and demons, learning to fight with a magic sword so that she can defend herself. And if she makes one wrong move, she'll be pulled into the Dark World, an alternate version of our world that's overrun by demons-and she might never make it home.


This comes out next week! I just adore that cover. And, of course, the synopsis had me at warlocks and magic sword. Plus, I've been meaning to read Shultz's Spellbound series, anyway. Maybe I'll start with this one instead.

What are you waiting on this week?

Cover Reveal (Giveaway): Birthright by Nichole Giles

Title: Birthright (Descendant #2)
Author: Nichole Giles
Publisher: Jelly Bean Press
Cover Reveal Organizer: Blog Tours by Elana
Release Date: May 1, 2014
Two months ago, Abigail Johnson saved the life of the boy she believes is her destiny and defeated an army of demons that have pursued her ancestors for centuries. Now, she and Kye should be taking their place as leaders of the new generation of Gifted. But the curse they thought was broken has returned, and every minute together brings them closer to death.

When remaining shadow demons attack again, the Dragons send Abby to Mexico. Being apart from Kye is slowly killing her soul, and it turns out she isn’t any safer here than she was back home. The shadows have tracked her, the locals expect her to help with their own demon problems, and the more time she spends away from Kye, the more she doubts the destiny that ties them together.

When the demons destroy her safe house, Abby has no choice but to take the fight to them. But the arrival of an old nemesis throws their careful plans into disarray, and Abby and her friends find themselves facing new adversaries in a battle that turns fatal. This time, not everyone will make it out alive.


About the Author

Review: Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett

Title: Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3)
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster)
Acquired Via: Library
Release Date: May 28, 2013
In the third book in this beloved and “riveting” (Romantic Times) urban fantasy series, demon-friendly tiki bar owner Arcadia Bell discovers more about her own evolving, and possibly destructive, magical abilities when her bar is the target of a demonic crime wave.

Renegade mage and bartender Arcadia Bell has had a rough year, but now the door to her already unstable world is unhinging. When a citywide crime wave erupts, Cady's demon-friendly tiki bar is robbed by Earthbounds wielding surreal demonic abilities that just flat-out shouldn't exist. With the help of her devilishly delicious boyfriend, Lon Butler, Cady sets out to find the people who wronged her—but her targets aren't the only ones experiencing unnatural metamorphoses. Can Cady track down the monsters responsible before the monster inside her destroys everything—and everyone—she loves? If she survives this adventure, one thing is certain: it's last call for life as she knows it.

My Review

I decided to pick up the Arcadia Bell series because I always see it in my recommendations based on the Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson series. I am so glad that I finally did! This is now one of my new favorite Urban Fantasy series. I’m trying to remember everything I loved about this book and the series without just gushing incoherently while screaming that EVERYONE NEEDS TO PICK UP THIS SERIES NOW! So, here goes...

Audiobook Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
Author: Susan EE
Narrator: Caitlin Davies
Publisher: Feral Dream & Brilliance Audio
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
Release Date: May 21, 2011
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My Review

Angelfall by Susan Ee has been on my radar for a few years now, but I avoided it because I haven't had a lot of luck with self-published novels. Honestly, I probably would have taken my time in getting around to reading it, despite the fact that I owned it on Kindle and Audible, if not for many reviewers that I trust raving about it in anticipation of its sequel, World After.

I'm so glad that I got off of my ass and read it.

Leap into Books Giveaway Hop #2 (INT)

Welcome to my stop on the Leap into Books Giveaway Hop. This hop is co-hosted by Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Jinky at Jinky is Reading.

What You Can Win

Angelfall and World After are two of the best books that I've read this year (maybe even last year, too!), and they gave me major book hangovers. While the situations in them are not anything that I would necessarily like to "leap into", they are most certainly books that I got lost in. I'll probably leap into rereading them before book #3 comes out, which is not anywhere near soon enough.


Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2)
Penryn is trying to survive. Because after the angels came to destroy the modern world there are no rules. Streets are ruled by gangs and angels are hunting for humans. When her sister is kidnapped Penryn will do everything she can to find her even if it means working with the enemy. Everything could happen in this new dangerous world.


Giveaway

Blog Tour (Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway): Beasts of Burdin by Alexander Nader

Title: Beasts of Burdin (Beasts of Burdin #1)
Author: Alexander Nader
Publisher: J. Taylor Publishing
Release Date: February 10, 2014
Demon hunter Ty Burdin hung up his guns, knife, trench coat and fedora a year ago. Bags packed, hands washed of all demon politics, he’s done. Forever.

In fact, to get far far away, he dragged Nora, his rockabilly secretary, from Miami to the Tennessee mountains where he’s lived a life of peace—if peace can be defined as drowning in scotch and taking private eye jobs to keep the lights on. Jobs for real people. Not demons.

No demons.

He’s retired from that. Remember?

Demon hunters aren’t a dime a dozen, though, and when Ty’s brother asks him for a favor—just one—what’s a brother to do? Agreeing to take down one hillbilly demon shouldn’t take that long. In. Decapitate. Out. Favor complete. Back to the office where Nora and his bottle of whiskey are waiting.

Unfortunately for Ty, staying retired doesn’t seem to be in the cards, and an avalanche of bad luck draws him right back to an agency he despises and the career that nearly cost him his sanity.

This time, Ty has no way out and will have to face his own demons just to survive.

Guest Post

Hi, everybody. I’m Alexander Nader and my new book Beasts of Burdin has just hit the shelves/e-reader-of-your-choosing. Thinking of private eye/demon hunter main character, Ty Burdin, this seems like a good time to talk about my favorite novel PI.

There are a ton of choices, both modern and classic, and I struggled not to say Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade. I like Marlowe a lot, but that just seemed like too easy of an answer. Others at the top of the list were Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man, Driver from Drive, and Bucky Bleichert from The Black Dahlia. I know those aren’t all PIs per say, but I’m stretching the meaning to noir main characters.

Cover Reveal: Milayna by Michelle K. Pickett

Title: Milayna
Author: Michelle K. Pickett
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Cover Reveal Organizer: YA Bound Book Tours
Release Date: December 2, 2014
From the bestselling author of PODs comes an unforgettable tale of action, intrigue, and following your heart in the midst of betrayal.

It’s hard being good all the time. Everyone needs to be bad once in a while. But for seventeen-year-old Milayna, being good isn’t a choice. It’s a job requirement. And it’s a job she can’t quit. Born a demi-angel, Milayna steps in when danger and demons threaten the people around her, but being half angel isn’t all halos and happiness. Azazel, Hell’s demon, wants Milayna’s power and he’ll do anything to get it. But he only has until her eighteenth birthday, after which she becomes untouchable.

With the help of other demi-angels, Milayna thwarts the trouble Azazel sends her way. Fighting with her is Chay. He’s a demi-angel who's sinfully gorgeous and Milayna falls hard. But is Chay her true love...or her nemesis in disguise?

Because when she learns of a traitor in her group, there’s no one she can trust…not even the one she loves.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Amazon


ARCs: If you’d like to request an ARC, please use the reviewer form on Spencer Hill Press's website. ARCs will ship several months before the release date.

About Michelle K. Pickett

Blog Tour (Guest Post & Giveaway): SALT by Danielle Ellison

SALT Tour Schedule
Welcome to my stop on the SALT Blog Tour, brought to you by Rockstar Book Tours. Today I will be featuring an guest post from the author, Danielle Ellison about the main character, Penelope, and there will be a tour-wide giveaway at the end of the post!



Title: SALT
Author: Danielle Ellison
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Tour Organizer: Rockstar Book Tours
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find "her" demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

Guest Post

Writing Penelope Gray
Danielle Ellison
Penelope Grey came to me with an unbridled ferocity. The first line I ever heard from her was the very opening of the book. (“Gran always told us never to leave home without salt.”) And from then on she was a force to be reckoned with. Within two hours of the first line, I had a whole story and wrote the first chapter. I knew Penelope’s name, her family, her non-magical dilemma, and her quest to get it back.

Cover Reveal (Giveaway): Salt by Danielle Ellison

Title: Salt
Author: Danielle Ellison
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Cover Reveal Organizer: Rockstar Book Tours
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find "her" demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

Excerpt

“Jealousy is cute on you, Pen.”

“Don't call me that,” I snap, pushing my coffee away from me. “And I'm not jealous.”

He leans back on the chair. "Sure. And I don’t think you’re adorable." I jerk my eyes up. He’s smiling. Screw this—this is so frustrating. I tap my foot under the table.

"We're stating the facts, right?" he says.

Audiobook Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Acquired Via: Library
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

My Review

I picked up Sweet Peril because I saw it at my library in audiobook format and I remember liking, but not loving, Sweet Evil, so I decided to give it a try.

The narration was decent. I was worried about the southern accent at the beginning, but it smoothed out during the first couple of chapters.

Cover Reveal: Ruled by Steel by S.M. Reine

Title: Ruled by Steel (Ascension #3)
Author: S.M. Reine
Publisher: Red Iris Books
Genre: Romance
Release Date: October 30, 2013
Synopsis to come on author's social media.


About the Ascension Series

A dark, gritty series of urban fantasy novels about demons, werewolves, gods, and a war between Heaven and Hell on Earth. This series is a follow-up to The Descent series and The Cain Chronicles, but you don’t need to read either to enjoy the books.

Reading order:

1. Sacrificed in Shadow
2. Oaths of Blood
3. Ruled by Steel (Coming October)
4. Caged in Bone (Coming December)

About the Author





S.M. Reine is an author of paranormal and urban fantasy from Reno, NV best known for The Descent series which is about an exorcist on the run from God.

She likes long walks on the beach, overcast days, total mayhem, and kittens.





Links
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Cover Thoughts

I think it's a well done Urban Fantasy novel cover.

Would I buy it?

Maybe after I've read the synopsis and the other two novels in the series.

What do you think of the cover? Would you read the book?