Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman is a story about adventure. It's a story about finding self-worth and an unexpected love in a world where humans and dragons do not get along. Within that world lies our heroine, Seraphina Dombegh, who is both human and dragon. She lives in a world where humans and dragons are at peace with one another... but there is tension in the air when one of the family members of the royal court is found dead. I absolutely love Seraphina and the world that she is bound in! She is fierce, loyal, and extremely intelligent. Rachel Hartman stuns readers with her sightful imagination and world building! If you're familiar with epic fantasy books with dragons in it, you should definitely check this book out. I was fortunate enough to read this book months before it was released. Fans of this genre should not miss out the opportunity to read it once it releases this upcoming July! This is definitely a keeper for me!

One of my favorite aspect about this book was the mystery behind the murder of Prince Rufus and the blossoming romance between Seraphina and Prince Lucian Kiggs. I mean, how adorable can they be? And by that, VERY. Here's a scene that I absolutely found cute between them!

"Have you read Belondweg?"
"I couldn't call myself much of a scholar if I hadn't," he said.
He was so adorable and he made me smiled, but I couldn't let him see.

And can I just say how much I loved it when Kiggs slips and calls her Phina instead of Seraphina? I'm such a sap. Anyway, the mystery beind Prince Rufus' death was the main star of the book. Someone was trying the break the peace treaty between the humans and the dragons by killing the royals! And Seraphina plans to find out who.

In the end, I loved this book and the characters in it. Few of my favorites would be Orma, Seraphina's uncle and music teacher, and Princess Glisselda, Prince Lucian Kigg's fiancee. I know, shocker right? How can Seraphina and Kiggs be together now?! You'll just have to read and find out! The ending was rather bittersweet... but very hopeful at the same time. I guess it will lead us right into the sequel! It can't be the end already, can it? We'll see about that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for giving me permission to read this ARC!

Rating: ★★★★★

Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

This review for Romancing the Countess has been long overdue!

I've always had a thing for romance novels where the hero and heroine get a second chance at love. Leah and Sebastian were never supposed to be for one another... but fate tells an entirely different story. Romancing the Countess was definitely a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It had all the elements that I look for in a romance novel and so much more! If you love this kind of genre, then I urge you to read this wonderful book. With a strong and witty heroine and a dark, brooding, and yet a loveable one at the same time to boot, it is sure to be a winner!

The most heartbreaking aspect about this book was the fact that Sebastian and Leah had spouses that were committing adultery with one another. I mean really, how can you live with yourself? Well... they didn't. I felt for both Sebastian and Leah because little did they know that his wife and her husband were doing "things" with one another. Ugh! Anyway, with the pain still fresh and also old as well, will these two ever be able to find and fall in love again?

Ooh, I love this book! Leah and Sebastian's love story was truly a slow transition from "enemies" to lovers. After her husband's death, Leah didn't want to stay as she was anymore. She wanted to change. And well, Sebastian wasn't exactly too happy about that. You see, Leah's husband happens to be Sebastian's best friend. She actually knew about the affair... but she never said anything. Pride is something after all. But personally? I really think she should have confronted those two instead of letting it go on for so long. Sebastian didn't want the affair to get out in public and cause scandal for his son, Henry. So as a result, he must stop Leah from being herself!

I admit, I did not get why Sebastian was so intent on stopping Leah from finding her true self. But eventually, I believe that Sebastian began to see the light! After that, we started little signs from him that show us how his view of Leah is slowly changing him. He starts noticing her lips at first... and then her real personality! Sebastian ends up falling for Leah, and I mean really fall, by the end of the book. Although towards the middle of the book, Sebastian claimed that he only desired her body... and we all know that that's not love! Leah still has trusting issues, so how exactly is this romance going to work now? Read the book and find out! *wink*

Rating: ★★★★★

Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer

When I first started reading Always a Temptress, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about it. Just that I was really angry at both Kate and Harry. Especially Harry! Just because Kate apparently "betrayed" him when they were younger, he finds fault in her at everything she does. It's the usual misunderstanding where Kate believes that Harry betrayed her and he believes that she betrayed him. But the most surprising aspect of this book in the beginning was of Kate's dark secret... about her marriage to the Duke of Murther. Previously in Never a Gentleman, we knew the relationship between Kate and Harry was a special one. They hated each other, but why?

Ten years ago, Kate and Harry were the best of friends. Well, they were actually more than friends. They were both in love with one another. But because of their social status: Kate, a Duke's daughter, and Harry, the second son of a squire, Harry believed that his dream of marrying her was too high of a dream. Apparently right after, his love for Kate ended due to some unknown reason to the readers and Harry left to go to war. It turns out that Kate's father had lied to Harry, which lead him to believe that Kate had betrayed him. Ugh. Harry why are you so stupid? Another thing that frustated me was the fact that Harry took way too long to redeem himself for Kate. In my opinion, I think Kate should have gotten someone who was much more worthy of her. Oh well!

In the end, through the twists and turns of their relationship, everything fell right into place. I liked Always a Temptress, but sadly it was not my favorite book from the Drake's Rakes series. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for giving me permission to read this ARC!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a book about demons, angels, and magic. It's about finding out your true purpose in life (well, more like Karou’s purpose) is, reincarnation, and finding the love of your life again. This book is the true definition of star-crossed lovers. Karou was a kick-ass heroine from the very beginning, whose side is with the chimaera (demons), versus Akiva whose allegiance belongs with the angels. A war has been going on between these two races for thousands of years and now the angels are back. Karou and Akiva meet under unexpected circumstances where he attacks and injures her on one of her errands. And there, begins the raveling of Karou’s unique relationship with Akiva.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so heartbreaking and beautifully wrapped in one marvelous package. It almost reminded me of The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern because this author's prose was that good! I honestly can't comprehend how gorgeous the writing was. The secret to Karou's past was both mind-blowing and so bittersweet. I can't condemn Akiva for doing what he did... but I also can't forgive him for doing that to Karou. I'm really interested as to where Laini Taylor will lead her story next. The ending will definitely leave you breathless and heartbreak because that's exactly how I felt. I refuse to spoil anything further because you will see the greatness of this book when you read it.

Definitely recommended to all YA readers and fans of paranormal romance. I even recommend it to those who hate reading novels about angels because this book will change your mind. I absolutely guarantee it!

Rating: ★★★★★

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A story about love, murder, lies, secrets onboard a spaceship called Godspeed travelling to a unknown planet and future. Across the Universe by Beth Revis is defined by all the traits and more. It's a story about a group of people who plan to travel to a new world in order to build a better place; as a result, they’re frozen in time until the ship arrives there. The ship was planned to arrive in the new planet around 300 years into the future, but unexpectantly, Amy (our heroine) wakes up 50 years later trapped in a world that she doesn’t recognize and ruled by a disturbing system with an evil dictator. There, she also meets Elder (our hero) who pretty much falls from her ever since he set his eyes on Amy.

At first, I was quite wary of starting this book because in a lot of the reviews that I've read, many have said that it was 'sleep inducing.' While I do admit that the beginning started off really slow, the story soon picks up when Amy wakes up for the first time ever since she was frozen 250 years back. Amy is then thrown into a world where she doesn't really recognize as her own. Everything is so different... and we find out the reason as to who was behind it towards the end of the book. Thinking about it now still makes me shudder. How can... they stand it? It would be like living but trapped inside a cage until who knows when you'll arrive on the new planet. And as a reader, I also felt trapped like Amy and wonder like Elder because there are two point of views in this book.

All I can say is, the ending pretty much shocked me to the core. While other readers might say that this book was pretty predictable, I never really suspected that from Elder. Orion had always felt suspicious to me and it was quite obvious that Eldest was also evil as well. Overall, this was a great debut book for author Beth Revis! I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to tackle the sequel, A Million Suns soon!

Rating: ★★★★★

Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss by Maya Banks

Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss is most definitely my favorite out of the Pregnancy & Passion series thus far. Reading anything with unrequited love in it has always been one of my weaknesses. I truly sympathize with Ashley in here because while Devon went into his marriage knowing it was a business arrangement with no rules saying that he should love her, Ashley whole-heartedly loved him and wanted to marry him because he was the man that she chosed. This third installment by Maya Banks was heartbreaking and very emotional like the last two but I actually felt a connection in this one. I hated how Ash had to find out about the truth during her honeymoon, after she got married for heaven's sake! That was really cruel.

Ever since the beginning, we've known first hand that Devon married not for love. He married Ashley due to a business arrangement in order for his company to merge in with her father's. Only... the end result was definitely not what he expected. I honestly believe that Devon started to fall in love with Ashley little by little without even realizing it. When she found out that their marriage was a farce, he repeatedly told her that he never wanted to hurt her. But is lying to someone truly a way to start a relationship? No, absolutely not. When Ashley starts changing her personality to become "the perfect wife" in regards to Devon's ideal, things take a turn for the worst.

In the end, to win back a woman's love and trust, there can only be one solution: you either grovel and beg for her forgiveness, you show her you love her and that you can't live without her, OR you can do both! Which is why, Devon Carter wins the title for Best Grovelling so far... and you shall see! Overall, I definitely recommend this series for anyone who loves Maya Banks, drama, romance, and some good old fashion grovelling! Last but not least:

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for giving me permission to read this ARC!

Rating: ★★★★★

Enticed by His Forgotten Lover by Maya Banks

To be honest, I was wary of starting this series. It sounded really cheesy, Maya Bank's highlander series was a prime example of that, and I wasn't exactly fond of the pregnancy idea. I decided to try it out and ended up really like it. It was very sweet and the relationship between Rafael and Bryony was well-done. At first, it was really hard to believe that Rafe could forget everything about the woman that he supposedly love. He doesn't remember anything about their love for one another, so what does that say about a person? I had my doubts about him and Bryony. She could be lying as well. In the end, one of them was certainly lying... but as readers, we don't know who. The only thing to do was to keep on reading!

I actually thing that through all their ups and downs in the relationship, Rafe and Bryony were worthy of one another. You could tell that she honestly loved him a lot. I don't exactly think that he appreciated it, thanks to the reveal at the end of the book. Betrayal and forgiveness was probably the two big themes in the first book of the Pregnancy & Passion series. We ended up finding out that Rafe had indeed been the one lying to Bryony and claimed he loved her when he did not. Anyway, Rafe did some groveling in the end because while he didn't experience the 'passion' the first time around, he certainly did the second time! Overall, this was a good book to the start of a series. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of Rafe's friends future happiness in the next upcoming books!

Rating: ★★★★☆