Review: Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin

Alpha Divided

Author: Aileen Erin

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Publisher: Ink Monster, LLC

Alpha Girl Book #3

ISBN:   0996086412

ISBN13: 9780996086417

Genre: Young Adult

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

 Life has been crazy since Tessa McCaide moved to Texas. She’s gone from being a normal-ish girl with visions to a super-powered werewolf. She’s fought off vampires and broken a nearly unbreakable curse. And she’s got a hot mate, Dastien Laurent, to keep her busy.

Things are looking up until the full moon ceremony rolls around. Before Tessa can strengthen her bond with Dastien, the local coven crashes the gates, demanding that Tessa—their heir apparent—be returned. If the pack wants to avoid a war with the witches, handing Tessa over is the only option.

Tessa doesn’t want to cause an all-out fight, but joining a dark-magic coven isn’t on her to-do list, especially if embracing her magic side means parting with Dastien. When the coven leader tries to control Tessa with dark-magic, Tessa realizes she has to dismantle the coven or prepare the pack for war. Either choice will change her life—and her world—forever.

AVOIDING ALPHA felt like more of a filler book so I was excited to jump into ALPHA DIVIDED and continue the story I fell in love with during BECOMING ALPHA.

It was really nice to see how much Tessa's feelings about her wolf have changed. She has finally accepted it and it was pretty painful to watch her being forced to suppress that part of herself in ALPHA DIVIDED. Tessa doesn't want anything to do with the Bruja community and the way it was forced on her sucked. The good thing is he really did learn a few things about herself she needed to know. Anyone who has been reading the series knows that Luciana is up to no good and has an ulterior motive for everything she does, it was nice to finally see her motives revealed.

It's a bit of a bummer that things between Tessa and Dastien were once again pushed off. We waiting during book 2, we waited now through book 3 and now we have to wait again through book 4 because book 4 will be following Claudia while she travels to Peru. I am all for a little waiting but that is just ridiculous. I am glad we got a full feeling story back though and I am still a fan.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Black Spring by Christina Henry

Black Spring

Author: Christina Henry

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Publisher: Ace

Black Wings Book #7

ISBN:  0425266788

ISBN13: 9780425266786

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher

A former Agent of death, Madeline Black now has everything to live for, most importantly, her unborn child. But Chicago has become ground zero in a struggle between ancient creatures, and only Maddy can stop the carnage…

The mayor of Chicago has announced a plan to round up the city’s supernatural beings and put them in camps. With her due date looming, Maddy’s best move would be to lay low for a while. But not everyone is willing to respect her privacy. Hounded by tentacled monsters, a rogue shapeshifter, and a tenacious blogger, Maddy turns to her most powerful ally, her uncle Daharan, only to find him missing.

Just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, Maddy gets an invitation in the mail—to Lucifer’s wedding. Turns out everyone has been invited, friends and enemies alike. And with that kind of guest list, it’s highly unlikely there will be a happily ever after.

BLACK HEART left Madeline without some of her allies and thankfully BLACK SPRING brings them all back together for the birth of Madeline's baby and the final showdown with Lucifer.

I have for the most part always enjoyed Madeline as a character, I don't really have much more to add about her that I haven't already said in previous reviews. She does a great job of keeping her baby safe in BLACK SPRING though. I was never a Nathaniel fan, but he has come a long way since we first met him and I don't despise him like I used to. Beezle is the perfect little sidekick. Love Daharan, I wish he came into the series sooner. I always liked J.B. and wish there would have been something a little more between him and Madeline, but I can totally respect them being just friends. Poor Samiel suffers a great loss in book 7, I am glad he was back with Maddy and the rest of the gang when it happened. Jude, not much to say about him, but he kicks butt and I'm glad Madeline has him on her side.

Now for the bad guys. I always knew Lucifer had ulterior motives, but never really understood what they were. He really is a piece of work and deserves everything he gets in BLACK SPRING and in his new future. Puck, ugh what more is there to say about him? I have always thought that everything he does is for his own gain even when others think its for them, BLACK SPRING proved I was right.

I'm not going to lie, after the last book I didn't think Henry was going to be able pull off a great ending for this series, but she did! I felt like Madeline was in a good place with great friends surrounding her. I also felt like Henry did a good job of ending the current storyline while leaving some things open for interpretation or maybe more books in the future? Who knows, one can only hope. Except for a few bumps in the road I really enjoyed the Black Wings series and I'm glad I've been able to follow it along as it was written. All urban fantasy fans should pick up BLACK WINGS.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

New Releases: 11/2-11/8

Tue. Nov. 4th

 Another One Bites the Dust (Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire #2) by Chris Marie Green

 A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1) by Claudia Gray

 The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1) by Amy Engel

 Crash (Twinmaker #2) by Sean Williams

 Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn and Grim #1) by Juliet Marillier

 The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg

 Heart Fire (Celta's Heartmates #13) by Robin D. Owens
 Her Lone Wolf (X-Ops #2) by Paige Tyler

 Killer Instinct (The Naturals #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

 Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers

 Reap the Wind (Cassandra Palmer #7) by Karen Chance

 Tainted Blood (Generation V #3) by M.L. Brennan

 Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3) by Gail Carriger 

 The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Happy Reading!

 

Spotlight: Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

Burn For Me
Hidden Legacy #1

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire…

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

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“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army.

Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him.

They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) They have co-authored two New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, the urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and the romantic urban fantasy of The Edge and are working on the next volumes for both.

They live in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

Find Ilona Andrews and their books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Read an excerpt

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Tour Wide

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: 10/26-11/1

Books I've Bought/received

- Destiny by Celia Breslin- eARC- Bewitching Blog Tours

- Beast Coast by J.C. McKenzie- eARC- Author

- City of Eternal Night by Kristen Painter- eARC- Publisher

- This Weakness for You by Wendy Sparrow- eARC- Publisher

- Temporal Shift by Nina Croft- eARC- Publisher

- Call of the Dragon by Elianne Adams- eARC- NetGalley

-  Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy - eARC- NetGalley

Books I've Read

Destiny by Celia Breslin
Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich
Her Lone Wolf by Paige Tyler
Anomaly by Tonya Kuper
Braving Fate by Linsey Hall

Reviews Posted

Bewitching the Enemy by Dawn Chartier
Protecting His Witch by Zoe Forward
Soulfire by Juliette Cross
Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday- Interview & Giveaway for Whisper the Dead by Alyxandra Harvey

* Tuesday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Soulfire by Juliette Cross

* Thursday- Promo & Giveaway for Highland Moon Rising by Sarah Mäkelä 

* Friday- Interview for To Have Or To Haunt by Ishabelle Torry,  Cover Reveal & Giveaway for Angel Bait by Tricia Skinner

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

BlogLovin

Networked Blogs

Facebook
Pinterest Board

You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.

Twitter

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 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Review: Bewitching the Enemy by Dawn Chartier

Bewitching the Enemy

Author: Dawn Chartier

Release Date: October 27, 2014

Publisher: Entangled: Covet

Vieux Carré Witch Sister Book #1

ISBN:  1633751015

ISBN13: 9781633751019

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher

Rebuilding New Orleans...one witch at a time

Contractor Storm Morgeaux is trying to keep her business afloat and not sleep with the hot-'n'-sexy new client, Dr. Nathan Davis. Adding to her troubles is the fact she accidentally released a series of dark spells. Now evil warlocks are after her family, and she has no idea who she can trust.

Nathan's biggest concern is getting his pediatric surgery center up and running. Still, his stunning new contractor provides plenty of distraction―until she sets off his Paladin medallion. A warlock is near. Nathan's first responsibility is eliminating the woman who wields new and dangerous magic. But something about Storm calls to him. She's mysterious, sexy, and downright irresistible, but most surprisingly, his.

Without the spells, Storm must learn to trust her new abilities. But can she trust the man who's torn between loving her...and killing her?

I'm on the fence with BEWITCHING THE ENEMY. I enjoyed the book overall, but there were a lot of slow moments and moments that didn't keep me engaged.

Storm and her sisters don't know about their heritage so when their Mom falls into a coma and some pages fall out of a painting that their grandmother painted Storm has no idea what to do. On top of that Storm is trying to keep her and her sisters construction business from going under and their new client is drawing her in like no one ever has. Nathan is a pediatric surgeon and Paladin (someone who hunts worlocks). When he meets his new contractor he's instantly attracted to her but his Paladin medallion is going wonky and is hinting that a warlock is near. He's duty bound to find out if Storm is a warlock and take care of her before she can hurt an innocent, but he quickly realizes that he would never harm her so he's in a bind.

The relationship between Storm and Nathan is never easy. Every time you think they are finally going to make a move there is some sort of interruption (someone walks in, doorbell rings, etc) When they finally make a move something is shoved in the way. This definitely isn't a hot and heavy, star-crossed love story. I felt the story took place too fast, there are only a few days time span from front to back and I had a lot of world building questions by the end of the book.

The secondary characters were interesting and like I said, I enjoyed the overall story I just wanted more out of BEWITCHING THE ENEMY. More romance, more magic, more back story, more information - just more. I'm a huge fan of Entangled titles so i will most likely give book 2 a chance when it comes out, but book 1 didn't sell me on the whole series on it's own.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Interview: To Have Or To Haunt by Ishabelle Torry

UFI welcomes Author Ishabelle Torry. Thanks for Joining us!!

This or That

Angels or Demons: You cannot have one without the other!

Vampires or Shifters: Shifters, definitely shifters.

Left or Right: Right.

Up or Down: *grins* both

Pizza or Pasta: Pizza. Mexican style with sour cream!

Coffee or Tea: Coffee in morning, tea in the evening.

Coke or Pepsi: Diet Sunkist…er or Coke works in a pinch.

YA or Adult: Adult

Knives or Guns: Knives.

Reading or Writing: It depends on the day!

Facebook or Twitter: I'm a Facebook-aholic.

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At the age of fourteen, Ishabelle Torry stole her first romance novel, Warrior's Lady by Madeline Baker, from her mother's glass "no-no" cabinet. It was then Ishabelle fell in love with the idea of new worlds, love conquers all, and the ability to forget the real world as she took on the lives of characters that were just as real as the people she interacted with every day. It wasn't long before her fixation with romance novels landed her in the high school office to collect the books confiscated during the previous week. Ishabelle swore one day she'd write the kind of book that would keep readers so enthralled, they'd too risk confiscation to keep turning the pages!

Find Ishabelle and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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To Have Or To Haunt
Buy Link

Melanie Fyre is a passionate teacher determined to raise funds for the town's school. What better way to do it than by expanding the local businesses? All she needs is land. Untouched for years thanks to a local superstition, the Crowe property is perfect. If Melanie can debunk the myth, she can get the use of those 600 beautiful acres. She just has to prove to the town that Leah's ghost is not haunting the mansion, even on Samhain night.


Burned to death and proclaimed a witch, Leah Crowe's soul has been cursed to an eternity of loneliness, all because she dared to love a woman. When the saucy Melanie arrives at her home to throw a costume party that mocks Leah's very existence, the bitter ghost resolves to renew the town's fear of her name. Will Leah's ghost ruin all of Melanie's plans?

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Excerpt: 

That voice… Melanie's head snapped left, then right. "Leah?" On either side stood groups of people, but no one she didn't recognize immediately—even through the plethora of costumes. She turned in a circle, searching for the face the voice belonged to. "You know it's not nice to stalk people."

"I was thinking much the same in regards to someone inviting themselves into my home."

Melanie jumped. It sounded as if Leah were speaking directly into her ear. "Your home? As in Leah Crowe's home?" She laughed so hard she snorted. "So that's what you were doing in the room upstairs…haunting me?"

Once again, Leah's voice sounded near. "No. I had only intended to ask that you leave and take your party elsewhere. I will haunt you if you fail to comply."

Melanie crossed her arms and chuckled. Someone was definitely pranking her.

Circled by a group of men paying homage to her costume, Ally randomly waved from across the room, raising a glass of beer. Melanie smirked. So busted! This scenario had her best friend's name written all over it. She nodded, licking her lips. "Bring it on, ghost chick. This party needs some entertainment anyway."

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