Review: The Scionless House by Nazarea Andrews

Title: The Scionless House
By: Nazarea Andrews
Series: The Scion Legacy #0.5
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

Twelve Houses. Twelve vampire lines. We ruled from the shadows, and manipulated the world, and when humans came too close to destruction, we intervened.

Every House has a Scion. A fragile, easily broken human that stood shoulder to shoulder with the house Princes and Princesses.

Except for ours. The Ravens, House Cantelie.

We've been without a Scion for almost fifteen years.

But that will change...and her life will be mine to protect.

Confession Time: I am madly in love with this series already and with the wonderful Nazarea Andrews!

I don’t think that there is an author out there who has captured my attention so quickly in just 62 pages.

As we all know, I LOVE everything that Nazarea writes and The Scionless House is no exception!  It’s just 62 pages and I found myself hooked and wanting the next book immediately in my grubby little hands.  I already know that this series has so much potential and the fact that it is coming from Nazarea’s imagination just ups the greatness that will be this series. 

These few pages have set up an incredible story and I have found myself already devoted.  I mean, just read the synopsis, interesting, right?  And you know it is going to be a heck of a lot more because Nazarea is behind the wheel.

Release Day Blitz: The Scionless House by Nazarea Andrews

Today we are celebrating the release of THE SCIONLESS HOUSE novella by Nazarea Andrews. This is a paranormal novella that is part of The Scion Legacy. The first full-length book in the series, THE BLOOD SCION, will be released in November.

   

Click here to ADD THE BOOK TO GOODREADS

THE SCIONLESS HOUSE (The Scion Legacy, #.5) Synopsis:

 

Twelve Houses. Twelve vampire lines. We ruled from the shadows, and manipulated the world, and when humans came too close to destruction, we intervened. Every House has a Scion. A fragile, easily broken human that stood shoulder to shoulder with the house Princes and Princesses. Except for ours. The Ravens, House Cantelie. We've been without a Scion for almost fifteen years. But that will change...and her life will be mine to protect.

 

GET THE SCIONLESS HOUSE FROM AMAZON

THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH NOVEL IN THIS SERIES -- COMING IN NOVEMBER!

THE BLOOD SCION Synopsis (The Scion Legacy, #1) I was just a reporter, trying to stay ahead of my student loans. I knew the rules, and I followed them. I thought I knew how the world worked—humans lived their petty little lives in the safety of the sun. We loved and fought and—when the sun sank—we scurried behind our walls and lived in fear. That is when the monsters came out to play. And even in the safety of the sun, we knew who ruled us. The Houses. And their Scions. Everyone knows the great Houses and their Scions—they are feared and loved and hated and envied. They are the gods who walk the shadows and rule all of our lives. They are salvation and death. And somehow, I am one of them.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Nazarea Andrews (N to almost everyone) is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. Which means she writes everything from zombies and dystopia to contemporary love stories. When not writing, she can most often be found driving her kids to practice and burning dinner while she reads, or binging watching TV shows on Netflix. N loves chocolate, wine, and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, spoiled cat and overgrown dog. She is the author of World Without End series, Neverland Found, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. Stop by her twitter (@NazareaAndrews) and tell her what fantastic book she should read next.

AUTHOR LINKS:

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | STREET TEAM

Trailer: Oblivion

We are beyond thrilled to bring you all the Trailer Reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout's OBLIVION! OBLIVION is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance being published by Entangled Teen, and is a part of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling LUX Series. It is being released on December 1^st, 2015!! Watch the trailer then pre-order your copy today!

 

OBLIVION Pre-Order

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OBLIVION Synopsis: Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black… I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it. And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are. But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game. Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger.It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

   

And don’t miss the first books in the LUX Series!

 

LUX: Beginnings

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LUX: Consequences

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OPPOSITION

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

    About Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

 

Title: Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid

Title: Beauty and the Mustache
By: Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #4
My Copy: Amazon.com
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, reclusive mountain man, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.

I honestly, in my small-minded self, thought that I was going to love each character the same.  That I was going to love their stories the same. And this was all because Penny Reid writes on only one level…excellence.  And I found that I was wrong. 

Yes, Penny Reid still writes on only one level…excellence – I am not wrong about that.  I am wrong about the fact that I finally found a favorite couple and a favorite story; Ashley and Drew.  I wasn’t expecting them to be my favorite but it swiftly happened and now I am completely at loss with my emotions.

Ashley left Tennessee years ago because of her father, because of her brothers, and because she didn’t want to marry a mountain man.  She made a life for herself in Chicago, she found a knitting group, and she made a home.  But now she is returning because her mother is sick and needs her (go ahead, start crying now because you won’t stop.)  When she returns, she finds that her brothers have grown up, gotten jobs, and do not hold her down and spit in her mouth anymore but she is still weary of them.  And her brothers have also brought another threat, Drew.  Very quiet, very stoic, very giving but never taking, very handsome and knowledgeable kind of guy.  I was smitten.  I was smitten the first scene that he was in and I was hooked on to him for the rest of the book.  And while this new threat, Drew, revs into Ashley’s life within the first pages and you slowly get to see the growth of his character, who he truly is, how he truly feels, and the beauty that surrounds him, you really do not get him until the last few chapters.  You get glimpses of his poetic words and feelings but never really get the whole package until the end and all that wait is totally worth it

.

But this story isn’t about just Ashley and Drew.  It is about Ashley and her brothers; the bond that was broken and how it starts to reform.  It is about Ashley and her mother; the everlasting bond that is secure in life and death. And it is just about Ashley and how she grows from all these experiences. 

I loved the two main characters.  I loved the story behind them.  I loved the brothers. I loved her momma. I loved that my heart broke into thousands of pieces because I felt the loss that Ashley felt.  I loved the small little bits of wisdom that Bethany left Ashley during her lucid times.  I loved the quick scenes that Ashley had with each brother and how she realized that they were not as bad as she thought, in fact, they were just boys when she left but now they were men who loved her.  And I loved our meddling knitting group and the constant need to meddle.

Oh, and of course Penny provides an excerpt from one of my all time favorite books - North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell.  It is one of my favorite scenes in Gaskell's book and the movie and one of my favorite scenes in Penny's book.  If you haven't read North & South, please do.  It is most wonderful (how about that…a book review inside of a book review.) And now that I think about it, Mr. Thornton (from North & South) is very much like Drew.  Never verbal with his wants and love but communicates through his eyes and actions. *multiple deep sighs*

The best book in the series so far by my account.  I can’t wait to start the next…

Review: Love Hacked by Penny Reid

Title: Love Hacked
By: Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #3
My Copy: Amazon.com
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

There are three things you need to know about Sandra Fielding: 1) She makes all her first dates cry, 2) She hasn't been kissed in over two years, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Sandra has difficulty removing her psychotherapist hat. Of her last 30 dates, 29 have ended the same way: the man sobbing uncontrollably. After one such disaster, Sandra--near desperation and maybe a little tipsy--gives in to a seemingly harmless encounter with her hot waiter, Alex. Argumentative, secretive, and hostile Alex may be the opposite of everything Sandra knows is right for her. But now, the girl who has spent all her life helping others change for the better, must find a way to cope with falling for someone who refuses to change at all.

First off, Sandra is awesome! I loved that she was extremely out there in everything that she did.  Every other Friday night, Sandra secures a date at the same restaurant.  She orders the same meal and gets almost the same waiter, Alex.  Sandra has mildly been crushing on him throughout these months but nothing has been done until the she makes another date cry and Alex confronts her.  The best part about this confrontation is that Sandra just verbally spews out whatever she is thinking.  Like Janie, Sandra has no filter, but unlike Janie, she doesn’t spew forth random facts.  After Alex learns that Sandra is a psychiatrist and she is not intentionally making her dates cry, he becomes intrigued with her and the story starts.

Love Hacked presented the most mysterious man yet, Alex.  Throughout the entire book I knew nothing about him.  He kept his cards extremely close to his chest and for a long time I teetered on whether Alex was a bad or good guy.  But I knew, in my heart, that our dear and wonderful Penny Reid would never do that to us.  Our knitting group girls deserve the best men out there and Alex is a superb match for Sandra.  That doesn’t mean that it was easy on either of them to learn all of the details in their pasts (mainly Alex’s past.  His past cracked my heart a little.) However, the beauty of their love healed my cracked heart and all was right in my world.

What a wonderful addition to an already marvelous series.  There hasn’t been one character that I haven’t fallen in love with and there hasn’t been one ending that didn’t make me feel warm and happy inside. 

And I have found that I love the continuation of getting to see inside of Janie and Elizabeth’s lives during the knitting sessions.  Even though their stories have already been told, we still get cute little updates. 

Review: Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid

Title: Friends Without Benefits
By: Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #2
My Copy: Amazon.com
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 




There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Finney: 1) She suffers from severe sarcastic syndrome, especially when she's unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her like Nico Manganiello, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Elizabeth Finney is almost always right about everything: the musical merits of boy bands are undervalued by society, “benefits” with human Ken dolls are better without friendship, and the sun has set on her once-in-a-lifetime chance for true love. But when Elizabeth’s plans for benefits without friendship are disarmed by the irritatingly charismatic and chauvinistic Nico Manganiello- her former nemesis- she finds herself struggling to maintain the electric fence around her heart while avoiding electrocution or, worse, falling in love.

I thought it would be impossible for Nico and Elizabeth to beat Quinn and Janie adorableness as a couple.  Though they really didn’t beat them, they ended up equaling right up beside them on the adorbs scale.  This probably had a lot to do with the fact that Nico and Elizabeth knew each other from a long time ago and had somewhat formed a friendship, if you could call it that, before their paths took them separate ways.  So, in my mind, this was a (sorta) friendship to lovers kind of story and that made me immensely happy.

While you can read this as a stand-alone story, I highly recommend starting with Janie and Quinn’s story first (#1 & #1.5) because Elizabeth’s story weaves in and out of theirs and I found it interesting to relive some of the events that happened with Janie again and get Elizabeth’s side of them.  Also, I found that some of the holes in Janie’s stories regarding Elizabeth were filled in and that after reading these three books, some scenes made more sense. 

Now, let’s talk about Nico and Elizabeth.  Just by chance, Elizabeth runs into Nico one day at work and while she wants nothing to do with him, he wants everything to do with her (and, again, this made me immensely happy. I love it when boys fight for girls.)  Poor Elizabeth, she tried hard to stay away from Nico but it was physically impossible.  She kept being drawn in to him and this created amazing friction throughout the story.

There are many things that I could praise Reid for bringing to the table in regards to this book.  Two more amazing characters, a different plot that corresponded with the first book, two chapters of chapter 22, but most of all was the difference between the characters established in the first book (Janie and Quinn) and the characters established in this book (Nico and Elizabeth.)  While I loved Janie for her logic thinking, ability to blurt anything out at any time, and a tight hold on her feelings, I found that Elizabeth was different.  She, too, also thought logically, made sound choices, and didn’t get too emotional but she did get emotional.  It was nice to see a break in the stoic characters that I am used to reading from Reid and to see Elizabeth just have a crying fit (even though her head stayed screwed on at all times.)  Elizabeth presented more emotions and because of this I felt as if the dynamic of the relationship that she starts with Nico turned this book into a different kind of fascinating read.

Again, I am going to admit that Penny Reid is a goddess of writing and I am enjoying each of these books.  I have already recommended them to multiple friends because I feel that each character has a little bit of something that everyone will enjoy.  I am looking forward to continuing this series and love the crap out of everyone.

Review: Playing With Fire by Alison Bliss

Title: Playing With Fire
By: Alison Bliss
Series: Tangled in Texas #2
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
The BookWhisperer's Rating:

Nothing ignites a fire like the perfect match…

Anna Weber is every inch the proper librarian--old-fashioned, conservatively dressed right down to her tightly clipped flaming red hair. She's just moved to a small Texas town, and is determined to spend time with her friend before she has to disappear. Relationships aren't easy for her. She knows too well what it means to be burned. And the last thing she ever wants to do is fall in love…

Especially not with a fireman who's hot enough to set the entire state of Texas on fire.

Cowboy can't resist the fiery little librarian, and he's determined to make her his. Beneath that prim-and-proper exterior is a woman he very much wants to know--if she'd let him. She'll test his patience. His control. Hell, his very sanity. And for the first time, Cowboy wonders if he's found the one fire he can't control...

Part of my job here is to tell you how I truly felt about a book and sometimes it is the easiest job that I have and sometimes it is not.  Today is going to be an in-between.  There were some great things about this book that kept me interested until the very end.  For instance: I did like Anna.  I thought her dislike for Cowboy first off was amazing and since it was something that he was not used to; it made the interactions between them perfect.  And actually, Cowboy wasn’t that bad at all.  He had his overly-cocky moments but when he got down to business, he was a sweet guy.  Now throw in some drama that involves someone setting fires around town and you got yourself a suspenseful romance with some funny, witty lines.

However, there were parts that had me scratching my head.  The back and forth between Anna and Cowboy’s like for each other got tiring. This theme was present throughout the entire book.  It was too much, too bouncy for me.  While I am not going to give anything away, I will say that after one scene towards the end kind of ruined my feelings for Cowboy and Anna’s relationship – I no longer wanted them together.  This change of heart came out of nowhere and left me confused about what just happened.  After the reason was explained, I still didn’t see why one character even forgave the incident.  

And there was also the reason why Anna was always on the run, the realization of what truly happened when she was little, the flashbacks, and how it all came to the forefront.  I had a hard time understanding how this all added up.  I feel like Anna would have realized what happened earlier, maybe her step-father would have had some insight to the incident that happened when she was young, and how this mysterious person still loves Anna after all she put him through without knowing the truth.

So, yes, it was a good book and while I enjoyed most of it, I felt that there were some holes throughout the plot that kept me from loving it.