Review: Cursed by Christina Bauer

Cursed

Author: Christina Bauer

Release Date: April 12, 2016

Publisher: Ink Monster

Beholder Book #1

ISBN:   1943858063

ISBN13: 9781943858064

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

Although Elea’s the most powerful necromancer in history, she’s spent most of her nineteen years imprisoned in the Midnight Cloisters. Enchanted manacles keep her unique brand of soul magick in check. While the guards and initiates seem contented to torment her, the Cloister’s Mother Superior is obsessed with finding a safe way to destroy Elea, both body and soul.

Escape seems impossible until a handsome hunter named Asher offers to help. Elea takes a chance and soon develops feelings for the mysterious stranger. However, Asher may not be who he claims. Then again, Elea may not be, either…

CURSED started out pretty slow but quickly started catching my attention and once it did, I was interested until the end.

The events in CURSED happen really fast. We get some background, then jump into the action pretty quickly. Elea knows what she needs to do and doesn't let anything—even personal danger—pull her off course. Which really isn't surprising considering if she doesn't stay on course she will die. She works hard and I could definitely see that in everything she did.

It is clear pretty early on that Elea and Rowan will fall for each other. They were sent to each other to achieve their mutual goals and their connection grows really fast. Unfortunately I didn't get the amount of romance I wanted out of these two. Hopefully book two will bring that out. 

I enjoyed the Beholder series world. Bauer has a great imagination and her words really brought everything to life. Once you get past the slower beginning the flow of the story picks up and I had no problem staying in the scenes. There are quite a few things left up in the air after CURSED ended and I will be keeping an eye out for book two, CONCEALED, so I can find out what the characters will be up to next.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

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

Review: Withering Rose by Kaitlyn Davis

Withering Rose

Author: Kaitlyn Davis

Release Date: October 14, 2016

Publisher: Self-Published

Once Upon A Curse Book #2

ASIN:  B01CAHUV6S

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

What if Beauty was cursed, and the Beast was the only one who could save her? Don't miss WITHERING ROSE, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Beauty & The Beast.

"As the heat finally disappeared, I felt the bloom blossom in the very core of my soul, a rose just like my name--a ticking clock hidden behind a façade of beauty. From that moment on, my life would become a countdown, and all I could do was wait and watch as the petals of time slowly started to fall."

Omorose Bouchene has a secret--magic. There's only one problem. At the age of seven, an earthquake struck, catapulting her into a new world. A land made of skyscrapers and cell phones. Fast cars and fluorescent lights. A land where magic isn't supposed to exist and anyone who wields it is the enemy.

But after ten years of hiding, she's desperate to find a place where she can be free. Because all magic comes with a curse, and her curse is time--every ounce of power she uses strips days off of her life. The clock is winding down, and the only option left is to escape to the realm of the Beast. But the king of monsters isn't what he seems. And the more Omorose opens her heart, the more she comes to realize that the only person she may need to fear is herself.

*This is the second book in Once Upon A Curse, a series of interconnected stand-alone novels all set in the same fantasy universe.

I didn't fall in love with GATHERING FROST, but I liked it enough to be interested when I saw that WITHERING ROSE was available for review.

Davis introduces a new take on Beauty and the Beast in WITHERING ROSE. Omorose is from the magic side of things and is forced to keep her magic under lock and key to keep herself safe, but she can't do it anymore and heads to the only place she can think of that will let her be herself, the realm of the Beast. I found Omorose very determined despite her fears. She didn't give up and didn't let herself be pushed into doing things even though it would have made things easier. Cole was pretty gruff, but quickly grew on me. He is very protective of his people and Omorose quickly become one of them and more to him. Together the pair fit and complimented each other. The romance was sweet and the relationship ended strong.

Some will be happy to know that Jade and Asher from book one made an appearance in WITHERING ROSE. Those that know my reviews know that I love seeing past main characters throughout a series. Book three—which will be a Cinderella retelling—will feature someone related to Omorose, so I hope that we get to see all of the characters together at some point during it. I enjoyed WITHERING ROSE more than I did GATHERING ROSE and I hope that book three brings my enjoyment up even more.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

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

Review: All Fixed Up by Linda Grimes

All Fixed Up

Author: Linda Grimes

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Publisher: Tor

Ciel Halligan Book #4

ISBN:   0765376393

ISBN13: 9780765376398

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher

The hilarious adventures of human chameleon Ciel Halligan continue in the fourth installment of this original urban fantasy series from Linda Grimes, All Fixed Up.

Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, has a lot of experience filling in for her clients--as them. A rare genetic quirk gives her the ability to absorb human energy and project it back out in a flawless imitation. She's hard at work, posing as a well-known and celebrated astronaut, about to make a stunning announcement on behalf of the space program...when the photographer documenting the job sees right through her aura. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that he not only knows Ciel’s not who she's supposed to be, but means her harm.

When Ciel's elderly Aunt Helen—also an aura adaptor—is murdered in Central Park, and the same photographer shows up at the funeral, Ciel starts to feel even more exposed. Then more adaptors are killed in the same way, and she becomes terrified her friends and family are being systematically exterminated ... and it's starting to look like she's the ultimate target. She turns to Billy Doyle, her best-friend-turned-boyfriend, for help, but when an unexpected crisis causes him to take off without a word, she's left to rely on her not-so-former crush, CIA agent Mark Fielding.

Staying alive, keeping control of her romantic life, and unraveling the mystery of why adaptors are being pursued becomes a harder balancing act than ever in this new Ciel Halligan adventure from Linda Grimes.

This is one of those series that you shouldn't judge by it's covers. I truly dislike the covers—they don't do the story justice—, but the story is fantastic.

In ALL FIXED UP, we have some pretty shady stuff going on stemming from Ciel's current job. On top of that, she finds herself having a bit of trouble on the relationship front. Speaking of that.... I really hope we get more relationship development in the next book, but without the triangle drama. I think ALL FIXED UP gave us a little bit of hope on that front at the end.

I absolutely love Ciel's—and Billy's—family. They are highly amusing and their is never a dull moment with them. We learn a lot about what makes Billy, Billy in ALL FIXED UP. We also get another glimpse into Mark's feelings for Ciel, but I won't tell you why.

Not only is this series fun, but there is always plenty of things going on in addition to the main storyline of the book to entertain. I will continue to read the Ciel Halligan series.

I gave it 4/5 stars

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

New Releases: 6/12-6/18

Tue. June 14th

 Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) by Nalini Singh

 Blood in the Water (Destroyermen #11) by Taylor Anderson

 The Ghostfaces (Brotherband Chronicles #6) by John Flanagan  

 Gifted by H.A. Swain

 Ivory and Bone (Ivory and Bone #1) by Julie Eshbaugh

 The King Slayer (The Witch Hunter #2) by Virginia Boecker

 Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1) by Yoon Ha Lee  

 Reliquary (Reliquary #1) by Sarah Fine

 Sea Spell (Waterfire Saga #4) by Jennifer Donnelly

 Spellbreaker (Spellwright #3) by Blake Charlton

 Spells of Blood and Kin by Claire Humphrey

 Steeplejack (Alternative Detective #1) by A.J. Hartley

Happy Reading!

Interview + Giveaway: Grimm and White by Emily Ann Hansen

UFI welcomes Author Emily Ann Hansen. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

I’m kind of an open book (no pun intended), so this one was hard for me. I love makeup! I used to work at Macys on State Street in Chicago at the Benefit counter. That was all the way back in 2007. The store always smelled like the various perfumes that cluttered the glass counter tops. Some of my best stories come from the brainstorming I did as I asked people to sit down and try all the fun products!

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

Down time? I’m going to be completely honest and say that I don’t enjoy down time very much. I’m a lot happier when I’m running around and working towards a goal of some kind. As an English teacher, waitress, writer, and blogger, down time is pretty non-existent. However, I’m really into Game of Thrones, so I watch that when I can’t sleep. On the weekends I’m either at brunch, on a date, laying at the pool, or in a coffee shop. Except I usually have my laptop and I’m probably still working.

What is your Favorite part of writing?

When I’m writing I feel the most like myself. Home really isn’t a place. It’s a state of mind and when I’m typing away or dragging a pen across paper, my brain feels a sense of serenity. One second I’m in my bedroom and the next I can be anywhere that I think up.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

Music has become a big part of the process. I get more done in coffee shops but sometimes it’s nice to cuddle in my bed with my cat. AKA: Keeping my cat hostage while I force her to love me.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

I really like Cassandra Clare and Neil Gaiman.

How would you pitch Grimm and White to someone who has not heard of it before?

Read this book because it’s super cool! Oh, is that not appropriate? Okay. Okay. I would say that Grimm and White is a YA (Teetering on NA) book that is heavily influenced by fairy tales. Alice Cabot was born without a heart and if she doesn’t rip out the heart of the one she loves on her 19th birthday she will die. (Insert ominous music here). IF it means keeping him safe, the boy who has shared in her darkest secrets, she knows what she has to do.

Kallin Grimm has other ideas. He’s not letting Allie go without a fight.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that Grimm and White is set in?

Grimm and White is set in various locations in the U.S., but there are a few otherworldly places that exist within the setting. The main locations are California and Chicago. In Chicago there is a bar called Wonderland that is underneath an old television repair shop. That is where Allie, the protagonist, and her best friend, Miles, end up hanging out a lot. It serves as a bar. It also has other uses, including being the entrance to a particularly magical place.

    “Through that door,” she points to a door to the left of the bar, “there is a place called the Underground. The Underground is a place beyond our own world.”

    “It isn’t beyond. It is simply underneath. A little earth mixed with a smidge of magic. That’s all,” Lucky concludes.

Do you have a favorite scene in Grimm and White?

I do have a few favorite scenes. One of them is right at the beginning. Gram and the Aunts, Allie’s guardians, absolutely have a mind of their own when it comes to personality and their actions. I never know what they are going to do before I write it down. They are always surprising me and making me giggle. I can’t imagine what my roommates think as I laugh like a hyena, all alone in my bedroom. There is a particular scene in which Allie describes the Aunts and their quirkiness. It always makes me smile.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

Allie is my favorite because she is so horribly tormented. I know that sounds like it would be the opposite, but I’m kind of a ball of sunshine. Getting to dive into somebody else’s head that is extremely different from me is fun.

The hardest to write was probably Lyve. There is something I can’t figure out about her and I know she is going to kick my butt in the next book. She is one of those characters with thousands of layers, and every other chapter she is telling me something new about herself. This can make for a good story, but this can also complicate the plot a little bit. I have a feeling that she’s worth it.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

I’m working on a novel called the Lies of Lizbeth Dresden. This novel completely took me by surprise. I was watching the news and Paris Hilton’s brother came up. Apparently he was making all sorts of trouble. All of a sudden the character of Brooks Keaton was born. He is a sassy, foul-mouthed, trust fund kid.

Lizbeth Dresden happens to be in the same class as him, her boss’s son. When he forces a plane to make an emergency landing, Lizbeth finds herself being volunteered to become Brooks Keaton’s life coach.

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Emily Hansen is a writer currently living in Baltimore City. She grew up in Illinois and will always call Chicago home. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Fiction. She is a 9th grade English teacher. She became a writer because she thinks that people should not have to look far to find magic in their lives. Her obsessions range from depressing poetry to one or ten cups of coffee a day. Grimm and White is her first novel.

Find Emily and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Grimm and White 
Heartless #1
Amazon

How far would you go to save your own life? Would you kill the one you love?

I want you to put your hand over your heart. Press down against the skin, meld your fingers into the flesh, and listen to the beats. Can you hear how that one organ is keeping you alive? One pump. Two pumps. Three.

Alice White Cabot would consider you lucky. She can press down in that same exact spot and she would feel … nothing. She is under the curse of the Heartless, and on her nineteenth birthday she will have to rip out the heart of the one she loves or she herself will die.

Kallin Grimm is a regular nineteen-year-old guy from the Chicago suburbs. He’s completely normal, except for the strength he can’t explain. Not to mention, Kallin is in love with a girl that he has never met. The only means of communication between the two of them is through an enchanted journal. Whatever is written in one can be seen in the other. For the past year Allie and Kallin have shared their secrets and their souls, which is why Allie knows they can never be together. It is the only way to keep his heart safe.

Enter the dark world of curses, secrets, and a history as old as time. The novel opens on Allie’s eighteenth birthday. With one year left, she, along with her best friend Miles set off from California to find out more about the curse, her past, and to stay as far away from Kallin Grimm as she can. Their first lead is in Chicago. Maybe this curse is stronger than she thinks. Tick-Tick-Tick.

Who would you choose?

Excerpt:

Prologue: “Happily Never After”

 On Lighthouse Avenue, inside the house at the end of the street, lives a girl with no heart. This is not to say she is cold or unloving, but it is literal and true. If you peeked inside her pale skin, peeled back her veins and muscles, you would find a cavernous hole of sorts.

 Her name is Alice White Cabot, and she is eighteen-years-old today.

 A light turns on in the shed behind the Cabot house. Beyond the roses that line the aged rocks on the side wall of the large house, past the stepping stones, a few feet farther than the toad rot, gundly flax, and verbena flowers (I’m sure we will get to that later), and finally we reach a small wooden box. What served as a gardening shed, now is filled to the brim with papers, maps, pens, various supplies, two pictures, one knife, and the girl in question.

 Allie sits at the window on a small black stool with the knife in her hand. Her dark hair and blue eyes are the only vivid colors in the otherwise grey shed. She is absentmindedly cutting her finger again and again. Three droplets of blood bead off of her fingertips and fall on to the white carpet. Not flinching, she stares out the window at the snow falling like feathers from the sky. Allie thinks she must have heard that somewhere, some time ago. When and where are lost to her.

 It’s Christmas and almost time for dinner. She looks around the ancient space, with its empty flowerpots and cobwebs, and knows this is the last time she will be in this room that has given her solace for so many years. When her mother first died she hid under the desk in the corner and read every book she could find; mostly adventure stories, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Robinson Crusoe. The ceiling leaked and mice occasionally set up house, but it was her special place.

 The gash on her finger has closed and all that remains is dried blood crusted on the knife blade.

 On top of the cluttered desk is a purple music box. She gets up from her seat and places the knife on a dilapidated shelf. She gingerly opens the golden latch. A ballerina springs to life, and a haunting song echoes throughout the four walls of her sanctuary.

 She pulls out a note. On the front of the folded paper, the words Happy Birthday are scrawled in pretty script.

 My darling Allie,

 I wish more than anything I could have given this to you myself, but I know Gram will be there to do it for me. You must feel the time slipping away like I did. There is so much I want to say and so much that I, myself, don’t know how to explain. I cannot tell you what to do my love. Whatever you decide, no matter what, you are my sweet bean. I know you will choose to be better, to be good. You are so loved and that will never change.

 -Mom

 Her face is scrunched up, her nostrils flared and forehead taut, but she will not cry.

 Allie grabs the knife again. She cradles it in both of her hands for several seconds before she takes the hilt and turns the blade towards her stomach, so close that the tip digs into her belly button.

 Her breath mingles with dust in the unheated shed. Allie holds the knife like one would hold a brush or maybe a spoon—casually, yet calculated.

 With no other thought she plunges the weapon into her stomach, causing blood to immediately pool onto her white sweater. She makes no sound, not even a whimper. Both eyes are popped open, wide and surprised, while her other expressions remain suppressed. As quickly as she put the blade in, she pulls it back out.

 Allie drops the knife, and it clatters across the floor. She raises her hands and clutches them to her stomach, probing the area gently. 1 … 2 … 3 seconds pass.

 “Damn it.”

 She lifts her T-shirt revealing a smooth layer of skin, like the day she was born. The wound is gone; not so much as a scar to remind her of the pain.

Today, Allie White Cabot does not feel like celebrating because in one year’s time, she has to rip out the heart of the one she loves, or she will die.

 “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

 But, until then she is cursed to breathe and live and what she doesn’t want more than anything else, she is cursed to love and be loved.

 The curse of the Heartless.

 What do I know? I’m just the mirror who watched the curse come to life. I’m just a mirror who is trapped like the rest … destined to bend to the will of the curse or break under its power like so many before.

This is not just her story, but it is his as well. Kallin Grimm, the boy who loves the girl.

The boy who can save us all.

 Allie walks over and snatches a map of Illinois from the clutter on the desk. There is a bold red circle around the city of Chicago.

 “See you soon,” Allie says. She opens the door. A gush of cold air blows inside, causing the music box to slam closed. The melody stops abruptly. She wonders if that’s what it will sound like when she dies.

 A snowflake lands on her lip and she licks it off. It will all be worth it. If she can keep him safe.

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Week in Review: 6/5-6/11

Books Received for Review

Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
The Sight by Chloe Neill
Chaos Rises by Pippa DaCosta

Books I've Read

Nemesis by Anna Banks
Perfekt Order by S.T. Bende
Perfekt Control by S.T. Bende
Perfekt Balance by S.T. Bende
Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta

Reviews Posted

Rootbound by Shannon Mayer
Remnants by John Hennessy

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

* Monday- Promo + Giveaway for Dark Siren by Eden Ashley

* Wednesday- Guest Blog + Giveaway for The Dark Cycle Series #1-2 by Rachel A. Marks

* Friday- Promo + Giveaway for Ride: Felicity + Niall (Box Set) by AC. James

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Promo + Giveaway: Ride: Felicity + Niall (Box Set) by AC. James

Felicity + Niall (Box Set)

Felicity Forrest has the perfect job as an investigative blogger for Everyday Supernatural. This curvy girl gets sent to the Aran Islands to find out whether a púca shape shifter is responsible for the strange accidents haunting a construction site.

Niall O’Leary is tall, broody, and totally alpha. His mission is to discover why the veil between the human world and the Realm has lifted. And as the Chieftain’s son he must find a mate or his twin will be promised to a stallion he despises. He has a duty to his family, his clan, and a need for offspring. Otherwise the púca could become nothing more than folklore.

Passion and frustration ignite when a curvy human female tempts his inner stallion like no other. There’s only one problem… She just got out of a relationship that left her heart broken.
Is she ready for a second chance at love?

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author A.C. James writes paranormal romance and erotica, including Eternal Ever After which was featured in the bestselling Spice Box anthology. She pounds out sexy scenes at her keyboard where romance is laced with horror in hot stories of vampires and bad boy werewolves. Her stories feature strong heroines and alpha heroes, with plenty of action, twists, and turns that will keep you turning pages.

A.C. resides in northeast Pennsylvania where she entertains her husband with her imaginative yarns and quirky sense of humor. She spends her time drinking large vats of coffee while taming two toddlers by day and writing by night. Recovering video game beta tester and tech geek who grew-up going to cons and watching SmackDown. There’s probably some cosplay pictures around somewhere of her dressed up as Bloodberry from Saber Marionette J. Just don’t tell anyone.

Find A.C. James and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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