Review: Nexis by A.L. Davroe

Nexis

Author: A.L. Davroe

Release Date: December 1, 2015

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Tricksters Book #1

ISBN:  1633750175

ISBN13: 9781633750173

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Review Copy Source: Publisher

In the domed city of Evanescence, appearance is everything. A Natural Born amongst genetically-altered Aristocrats, all Ella ever wanted was to be like everyone else. Augmented, sparkling, and perfect. Then…the crash. Devastated by her father’s death and struggling with her new physical limitations, Ella is terrified to learn she is not just alone, but little more than a prisoner.

Her only escape is to lose herself in Nexis, the hugely popular virtual reality game her father created. In Nexis she meets Guster, a senior player who guides Ella through the strange and compelling new world she now inhabits. He offers Ella guidance, friendship…and something more. Something that allows her to forget about the “real” world, and makes her feel whole again.

But Nexis isn’t quite the game everyone thinks it is.

And it’s been waiting for Ella.

I'm not a video gamer, but if I was, Nexis would be the game I would want to play.

NEXIS was such a unique book and I enjoyed uncovering all of its mysteries. Ella is a Natural born in a city filled with genetically-altered to be flawless Aristocrats and all she wants is to fit in. After a tragic accident—or not so accident as it's revealed—Ella escapes her new reality in her fathers game world for the very first time and finds out that the game isn't as it seems. In fact, the game was made for her and a very important mission she must complete.

It was very easy to fall into caring about Ella. She is dealt some crappy cards and doesn't have anyone to turn to. The world building was pretty fantastic and it was neat that we got to experience two very different worlds. There were some great twists and turns thrown in in both the game and in Ella's real world. There is some romance which was nice. I liked Guster from the beginning and the connection that Ella and him have seemed real and strong. There is a big Guster mystery revealed at the end of NEXIS and it has me giddy with the possibilities. Unless you read the book you will have no clue what I am talking about, but I have my fingers crossed that her connection is with the new possibility.

The ending of NEXIS leaves a lot of new questions and possibilities for the future. I fully plan on continuing this series and I look forward to the release of book 2.

I gave it 4/5 stars

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

Review: Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

Forget Tomorrow

Author: Pintip Dunn

Release Date: Nov 3, 2015

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Forget Tomorrow Book #1

ISBN:   1633752380

ISBN13:  9781633752382

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Review Copy Source: Publisher

Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided...by your future self.

It's Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she's eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they're meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.

Or in Callie's case, a criminal.

In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a hellish prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes.

But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all—Callie, herself.

After reading FORGET TOMORROW I was stuck right in the middle of loving it and hating it.

Callie has been waiting for her vision, but when it finally comes, she finds herself in a lot of trouble. Not only was Callie a conflicting character, but I found myself conflicted in liking her more than a few times. At one point she comes off as super strong and selfless and the next I find her to be kind of annoying and immature. There were many points in FORGET TOMORROW that I could plainly see what was right in front of her, but she was completely clueless to it. It was quite frustrating.

I found the pace to be a bit too slow which made my attention wander at times. The world building wasn't as strong as it could have been. I felt there were some things missing that could have smoothed over some of the more complex parts of what goes on in Callie's futuristic world. The romance. Umm, where was the chemistry? We find out that Logan stopped talking to Callie YEARS ago, but all of a sudden he makes his way back into her life at the precise moment that she is in trouble. I wasn't feeling the connection between them. It was an insta-love type situation and there really wasn't any building of a relationship going on, but Callie was willing to throw a lot of things away to be with him. Until the end that is.

FORGET TOMORROW had quite a few surprises that helped me want to keep reading and although I didn't always love the main character Callie, I was still interested in seeing what would happen to her. The whole time traveling memories thing and the downside to it really makes you think. FORGET TOMORROW ends in a way that you can't help but want to know what happens next. I have looked into REMEMBER YESTERDAY and although I am not crazy about the fact that it will feature an older Jessa's POV, I still want to know what happens after the ending of FORGET TOMORROW.

I gave it 3/5 stars

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

New Releases: 11/29-12/5

Tue. Dec. 1st

 Alien in Chief (Katherine "Kitty" Katt #12) by Gini Koch

 At Blade's Edge (Goddess With A Blade #4) by Lauren Dane 

 Clockwork Samurai (The Gunpowder Chronicles #2) by Jeannie Lin

 Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher #2) by Vicki Leigh

 Forbidden by Eve Bunting 

 Hawthorn (Blythewood #3) by Carol Goodman 

In the Company of Wolves (SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team #3) by Paige Tyler

 Nevermore (Cal Leandros #10) by Rob Thurman

 Nexis (Tricksters #1) by A.L. Davroe

 The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman

 Shadow's End (Elder Races #9) by Thea Harrison

 Sweet Ruin (Immortals After Dark #16) by Kresley Cole 

 Tarnished (Perfected #2) by Kate Jarvik Birch

 Their Fractured Light (Starbound #3) by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

Happy Reading!

Guest Blog + Giveaway: Wildfire by J.D. Wright

UFI welcomes Author J.D. Wright. Thanks for Joining us!!

Everealm characters play… The Newlywed Game!

Okay, so maybe they aren’t married yet, but I thought it would be fun to play a round of the Newlywed Game with our two favorite couples: Bree & Rowan and Dagan & Sidonie!

I will be asking the questions, so when you see “J.D.”, you will know it is me! Here we go!

J.D.: Gentlemen, we asked your lovely ladies two questions. Let’s see if you can guess their answers. Question number 1! What does your lady say is your most annoying habit or quality?

Rowan: Probably my knives. I have a habit of toying with them when I’m bored.

Bree: His knives.

Dagan: I don’t think I have any annoying habits.

Sidonie: His sulking when he doesn’t get his way.

Dagan: I do not sulk.

Sidonie: You cause rain clouds to form over the castle. When you are sulking, the entire kingdom knows it. It’s embarrassing.

J.D.: Yikes! Okay, round one goes to Browan (Bree + Rowan). Question number 2! What is your lady’s favorite comfort food?

Rowan: That’s easy. Apple tarts.

Bree: Apple tarts! My absolute favorite.

Dagan: Smoked fish. It reminds her of when she used to live with the Sabras.

Sidonie: Yes, definitely fish. I’m surprised you remembered!

J.D.: That round ends in in a tie! Now we switch and ask our ladies the same two questions. Question number 1! What does your man say is your most annoying habit or quality?

Bree: Probably my obsession with books. I’m always reading.

Rowan: Her need to always have the last word.

Bree: I do not!

Sidonie: I have a bad habit of getting into dangerous situations. Even when it isn’t my fault.

Dagan: She attracts danger.

Sidonie: I do. It’s almost as if there is a demon narrator who is constantly putting me into danger.

J.D.: *snickers* Round one goes to Sidagan (Sidonie + Dagan) this time! Question number 2! What is your man’s favorite comfort food?

Bree: He loves honey brittle.

Rowan: Honey brittle.

Sidonie: He eats everything. Literally, everything.

Dagan: Venison. But she’s right. I eat everything. Twice, usually.

J.D.: Well, ladies and gentlemen, it appears Bree and Rowan are our winners!

Dagan: It isn’t fair when you think about it. They’ve known each other since they were children.

Rowan: Are you going to sulk, wizard?

Dagan: Don’t make me hurt you.

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Writing has always been a hobby of mine, beginning as a young child. It was a way to cope with losing my father at seven years of age. I started with poetry and was featured several times on the amazing poetry blog, Autumn Leaves, by Sondra Ball. My love for poetry soon led to writing songs in middle school and beyond, which I still do occasionally. Music has always been an important part of my existence, so writing songs came naturally to me. In high school, I started my own novel, however, life got in the way and I never finished it.

Fast forward many years later and I find myself married with four children, absorbed in my busy life with commitments to my family, work, school, church, and charities, among other things. One day I came across my old binder, with notes from my first novel, and it was with those notes that I conjured up the elusive Everealm.

I write to please readers such as myself, who have a love for fantasy and romance, but like a little danger and sex in their reading. I wrote the book with a mature audience in mind, who can appreciate a hearty imaginary world with magic and the unknown, but want more than fluffy love stories with wizards in them. They want the romance, magic, and danger, all wrapped into one.

Find J.D. Wright and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Wildfire
Everealm #2
Amazon Barnes and Noble
Book 1 Everealm Free for Kindle November 23-27 

The journey through Everealm continues as new evil arrives, casting mayhem about the realm. While war and wildfire are causing disorder, Bree and Rowan find that assistance from the fairies isn't what they imagined. As Dagan and Sidonie seek answers to uncover the truth about her family and her magic, they are plagued with even more mystery to unveil. As the wildfire burns, who will be left standing in the ashes?

Excerpt:

Isabelle took another sip and sat her goblet down, looking around at her children. Xavier looked miserable and tired. Tristan appeared bored and Rianne seemed ready to flee at any moment. Seeing no better time to share her news, she cleared her throat.

“It has been several weeks since we’ve all shared an early meal together,” she said. “And I know that you have much more important matters to attend to so I will not keep you long.”

“We’re here for as long as you’d like, Mother,” Tristan said, earning a sharp glare from his brother across the table.

“Actually, the seamstress is on her way here to fit me for a new gown,” Rianne said, hoping it may excuse her. However, her mother paid her no mind.

“I have some news to share with you and wanted to do it in private. I would prefer your father be here, but I suspect this time is as good as any.” The queen paused for a moment to make sure that she had their attention. Then she turned to her daughter and continued.

“Rianne, your father has received a proposal for your hand in marriage from King Carneath.”

“King Carneath?” Rianne asked.

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand. I didn’t think King Carneath had a son.”

“He doesn’t,” Tristan said, frowning. He realized immediately what his sister had yet to understand.

“Then, who am I supposed to ma—” She stopped, finally grasping what her mother was trying to say. “You mean him, the king? Don’t you?”

“I do,” her mother replied.

“But Carneath is over twice my age! Father would never consider such a proposal.” Rianne was sure of it.

“He is considering it.”

“That simply cannot be true! What does he want with a new wife anyway? His first wife had given him several daughters before she died. Right?”

“Three of them,” Tristan added.

“Precisely!” Rianne shouted. “Why would he need to remarry?”

“I suppose he wants a son. Or perhaps he is lonely. It is also possible that he wants a mother for his children. Honestly, that is something I cannot answer,” Isabelle said, keeping calm.

“Mother to his children? I am only a few years older than those children, myself!”

“I find it hard to believe that Father would consider this proposal, as well,” Tristan said. “What could we possibly gain from the arrangement?”

“I have yet to be informed of the details, but I gather it involves acreage of Carneath land to the north, to expand our orchards.”

“Orchards? Is that all my future is worth? A few acres of land to plant more trees? We already have more trees than people in this wretched place.”

“Rianne,” her mother warned. “Your tone is unwelcome at my table.”

“My tone? What about my happiness? Is that unwelcome, too?”

Unable to control her emotions, Rianne stood and excused herself. She turned away from her mother and walked, quickly, back into the castle. She had made it all the way to her room before Tristan caught up with her. He found her curled up on the window seat, crying.

“Go away!”

“I know it may not seem like it right now, but everything will be alright.”

“Is that supposed to comfort her?” Xavier said, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

“What am I supposed to say?” Tristan said, standing beside the bedpost. “If Father approves the proposal, there is nothing anyone can do about it.”

Xavier shook his head at his brother and sat beside Rianne, who crawled over to cry on his arm.

“It isn’t fair. Tristan is to marry a princess who is young and beautiful. The same age as I am, even. And I have to marry an old man!”

“For all we know, Tristan’s princess may be ugly,” Xavier teased. “With a pig nose and warts all over. Hell, he hasn’t seen her since she was a baby. She could be a real hag of a lady.”

Rianne sat up, chuckling. Her light brown hair that had been pinned atop her head was now falling down and her perfect porcelain skin was blotchy from crying.

“I probably won’t even get to see her if I am married before their wedding,” Rianne frowned. “This entire idea is ridiculous! There are plenty of eligible women in the realm. Junacave, Moorine, Veyace. Why doesn’t he marry one of them? Why me?”

“The Princess of Junacave just became the queen, so she is no longer a prospect, I suspect,” Tristan said. “Moorine is on the other side of the Valerian Mountains, so Carneath land would be of no use to them. And the daughters in Veyace are still quite young.”

He looked up to see his brother and sister scowling at him.

“Constantly, the deliverer of unhelpful thoughts,” Xavier mumbled.

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Tour Wide

Paperback copies of Everealm & Wildfire

Pair of hand-made jewel earrings

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: 11/22-11/28

Books Received for Review

- None this week!

Books I've Read

Tarnished by Kate Birch Jarvik
Earth by Jaymin Eve
Matefinder by Leia Stone
Devi by Leia Stone

Reviews Posted

Dragon Marked by Jaymin Eve

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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

* Tuesday- Interview + Giveaway for Sibilance by Aria Kane

* Wednesday- Guest Blog for Dragon Maid + Dragon's Dare by Ann Gimpel

* Friday- Promo + Giveaway for In the Company of Wolves by Paige Tyler

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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

BlogLovin

Networked Blogs

Facebook
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Tsu

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.

Promo + Giveaway: In the Company of Wolves by Paige Tyler

This December, Paige Tyler releases the third in her action-packed SWAT series, IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES. To celebrate the release of IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES, Paige Tyler stopped by to tell us about one of her favorite fun loving heroes in pop culture and to share an excerpt showcasing her own hero’s fun loving side! 

Paige Tyler: Everyone loves reading about alpha males, right? But of course, you can’t have a single dimensional character that’s just hardcore alpha all the time. It comes off as flat or just plain irritating. Most of the time you want to let your alpha have a lighter side, just to keep things interesting. One of my favorite fun loving heroes from popular culture is Stiles Stilinski! 

Dylan O’Brien plays a very unique character from one of my other favorite TV series Teen Wolf. While he may not seem to fit the bill as your prototypical alpha—he’s kind of on the small side and tends to get used for comedy relief—he still has the courage to throw himself into any situation against any kind of monster to help a friend. He might be terrified while he’s doing it, but he’s going to do it anyway. He’s bold enough to get the girl and funny enough to make us all laugh, even in the midst of a show that seems all too willing to kill off major characters whenever they feel like it.

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In the Company of Wolves
SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team #3

He opened his mouth to order her to drop the MP5 she had aimed at him, but nothing would come out. It was like she’d robbed him of the ability to speak. Shooting her wasn’t an option, though. And the idea of arresting her didn’t make him feel any better.

There's a new gang of criminals in town who are organized and ruthless in the extreme. When Eric Becker, along with the rest of the Dallas SWAT team, ends up in the middle of a shootout, he immediately senses werewolves-a lot of them. Turns out, the new bad guys are a pack of wolf shifters.

In a spray of gunfire, Becker comes face-to-face with the most gorgeous woman he's ever seen. Becker does the logical thing. He hides her and leaves the scene with the rest of his team.

Jayna Winston has no idea why that SWAT guy helped her, but she's glad he did. Ever since she and her pack mates got mixed up with those Eastern European mobsters, everything had pretty much fallen apart.

So what's a street-savvy thief like Jayna going to do with a hot alpha-male wolf who's a police officer?

Purchase your copy today:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1N9s7aS
Apple: http://apple.co/1jDW2eF
BAM: http://bit.ly/1Wgsjd3
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1L25iPs
Chapters: http://bit.ly/1jPkNEZ

Excerpt:

One of the Albanians shouted something from the front of the store in his own language, following it up with an order to the omegas to stop wasting time and get the damn safe open. Becker ground his teeth. He should have simply kidnapped Jayna and her entire pack. Then he could have just walked into the loft and shot every one of these idiots—twice.

“Watch them,” he told Jayna, motioning to the security guard and two women. Turning, he left the break room and jogged down the hallway toward the back of the building.

“Get them back on the safe!” the Albanian driver shouted at him from the front room.

Oh yeah, sure. Stop two morons from raping a woman and get them back on task. What the hell was he—a daycare worker for omega werewolves?

Shit. If this was how criminals behaved, it was no wonder he and his SWAT teammates took so many of them down. They were too stupid to live. Then again, maybe this was how Gage felt some days. The SWAT pack could occasionally be a little stupid too. Becker’s current predicament was a shining example of that.

The omega standing guard in the hallway outside the manager’s office glared at him. “We got this. Go back and babysit the old folks.”

What a complete ass, Becker thought as he walked up and punched the guy in the face. The werewolf flew backward and bounced off the wall, bleeding like crazy from a broken nose as he fell to the floor in a dazed heap. He was still moving around though, reminding Becker that it was as hard to knock out an omega as it was to knock out an alpha. He’d have to remember that.

Becker strode into the office to find the store manager on the floor beside her desk, the other omega—the one who liked to play with his platinum medallion—leaning over her menacingly. He’d torn her blouse and was telling her all the horrible things he planned to do to her if she didn’t open the safe. The idiot was so intent on threatening her that he didn’t realize Becker was there until he yanked the guy to his feet and spun him around, then smashed the back of his head into the nearest hard object he could find—the safe panel. Becker pounded his head into the safe a few times before letting him fall to the floor. The asshole was definitely out cold.

Becker turned and looked at the shop manager. She cringed away from him, terror in her eyes as she tried to hold the tatters of her blouse together. He really wished he could pull up his ski mask. Seeing him like this definitely wasn’t helping.

Do you have an alarm button in this room?” he asked in his softest, least intimidating voice.

The woman stared at him for a moment like he was insane, then motioned under the desk with a shaking hand.

“Would you mind pushing it for me?” he asked.

Now she looked really confused. But she slowly reached under the desk and poked around until a loud alarm started ringing.

“Thanks.” Becker bent down to take the platinum medallion out of the omega’s vest and slip it into his pocket. “By the way, that diamond merchant you bought from in New York sold you out to a really bad guy. You probably don’t want to buy from him anymore.” Turning, he jogged out of the room and down the hallway to the front of the store. “Time to leave. Moron hit the alarm.”

Jayna was heading his way in a flash, the two Albanians right behind her.

“What about the safe?” the driver asked.

Becker shook his head. “It’s a no-go. Our guy smashed the keypad.”

The Albanians muttered something in their native language and shook their heads, as if they’d seen this coming. They stepped over the omega who was still rolling around in a daze on the floor in the hallway and raced out the back door. In the distance, sirens echoed in the air. About damn time. Becker motioned Jayna out.

“What about him?” she asked, jerking her head at the werewolf still trying to get to his knees.

Becker nudged the omega with his boot, pushing him back down. The guy looked like he really didn’t want to bother getting up this time.

“What about him?” Becker said, holding the door open for her.

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Paige is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She graduated from The University of West Florida with a degree in education in 2000, but decided to pursue a full- time career as a writer in 2004. Since then, she’s written over fifty books in several genres, including paranormal, contemporary, western, sci-fi and erotica. She loves writing about strong, sexy, alpha males and the feisty, independent women who fall for them. From verbal foreplay to sexual heat, her stories of romance, adventure, suspense, passion and true love will leave you breathlessly panting for more.

 She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.

When not working on her latest book, Paige enjoys reading, jogging, P90X, Yoga, Pilates, going to the beach, watching NFL football, watching movies and hanging out with her husband (not necessarily in that order!)

Find Paige and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I know not all my readers are in the USA, so Happy Thursday to everyone else, it's almost Friday!

For those in the US. What are your holiday plans? Do you shop Black Friday?