Significance by Shelly Crane
Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.
Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?
Rate & take
This is book one in a four book series of the same name and all books have been published.
The story itself had a very original feel and I very much enjoyed the read. My only complaint was at every event in the story the characters talked about it (or internal monologues took place) seemingly forever before the next bit of action happened. I am sure the author wrote it this way for the audience she expected, and not middle-aged me. Originally I was going to end my reading of the series with the ending of book one but I have found the story is sticking with me, so at some point in the future I will continue on.
My Now & Forever by H.J. Bellus
Whose parents abandon them in a trashy trailer when they are five years old? Oh Yeah! Mine do!
Hey Hoochies! I'm Milly, and I am tired of taking kicks to the gut. A broken family, an asshole husband and the loss of loved ones have left me crying Uncle, and declaring a serious case of the Fuck-Its!
I had my heart broken, stomped on and shattered before I ever started on my journey to find my little piece of happiness. With a bucket list, a '66 Ford and wild dreams, I set out on an adventure that changed my life forever. Follow me on my journey that resurrected my inner badass.
I found my soul sista from another mista, and opened my dream shop along the way. Just when I gave up on finding true love, a pirate and a princess swept me off my ever lovin' feet and filled my world with sprinkles, mac n’ cheese and the courage to live again. They forced my fragile heart to trust and love without fear.
Truth is, nobody’s past stays hidden forever. It’s an invisible monster waiting to attack and destroy. It has the capability to ruin everything you’ve worked to set right. All it takes is one final blow to the gut to end everything.
Rate & take
Heat Index 1 ☼
I found this to be a cute with some funny lines, steamy goodness, and not a lot of substance otherwise....however that did not stop me from enjoying the overall read. I could ponder what this says about me but I choose not too, instead I'll get busy picking another entertainingly smutty read!
Promise Me Light by Paige Weaver
At one time my life was simple. Easy. But that was before the war. Now I was no longer an average college student. I was a survivor. A woman living in a ravaged world. My future was not bright and my life was far from perfect. The war had taken so much from me... but it wasn't finished yet. It wanted more. It wanted my heart. My soul. The one person I couldn't live without. It wanted Ryder Delaney. My best friend. The bad boy. The one person who could fight like no other and love me like no one else. He was the father of my baby. I watched him walk away one hot summer day and I prayed he would return. I needed him like I needed air to breathe and water to drink. Without him I was lost. A light without her darkness. Until he returns, I'll wait for him. And I believe he will return because love is powerful... And so is the light calling him home.
Rate & take
Heat Index 1 ☼
I finished this book a few hours ago and can't stop thinking about the way it made me feel. There were no earth shaking plot twists, but author did a great job of painting the array of all of the emotions that happen between loss and longing. I was totally sucked in and that surprised me because I normally do not go in for the post apocalypse type stories.
This book ends the story that was started in Promise Me Darkness (see last post for review) and I think, except for wishing there was a bit more development of the fringe characters, the story was well rounded.
Promise Me Darkness by Paige Weaver
For me, life was simple. I went to school and studied. I spent time with my friends and stayed out of trouble. I didn't drink or swear and I only dated gentlemen. I was the typical good girl with a bright future. My world seemed perfect.
But that was about to change.
Ryder Delaney was the one imperfection in my life. He was the bad boy, the black sheep, the one your mother always warned you about. He had only one hard-and-fast rule - Don't fall in love.
But some rules were meant to be broken.
We were best friends, inseparable since childhood despite our differences. I knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew all my secrets and dreams. But he didn't know there was one thing I wanted and couldn't have...him.
But sometimes Fate has a way of intervening. Soon our world collapsed. War erupted. Darkness prevailed. Alone and on the run, our only goal was to survive and to ignore the feelings we had for each other. But love is powerful...
and so is the darkness.
Rate & take
Heat Index 1 ☼
I am still shaking my head at this one...not at all what I expected. But that is not to say that I didn't enjoy it, I did, well enough to buy book two and start on it as soon as I hit 'publish' on this entry. Book two is the conclusion to the series so at least I won't be plagued with my need to know.
The thing that caught me most off guard by this title was not that love could bloom in the end-of-the-world type times, but more that the author really made it work. The only negative I can say is that I found at several points in the book I would have loved to slap some sense in the main female character for making some colossally stupid decisions, but I guess that all adds to the tension.
I am off to read!
The Arrangement 10 by H.M. Ward
When Avery realizes that her latest client wasn't Sean she doesn't know what to do. This person has invaded her life on a personal level and to make matters worse she doesn't even know who he is. The only good thing that came from it has been seeing Sean again, but now that he's in front of her, she doesn't want to let him go. However, it's time for Avery to stop pretending and move on with her life, and she knows that Sean Ferro will not be part of it.
Rate & take
I think H.M. Ward is a big tease, there I said it. This latest novella in the series was sweet torture. I loved every word...until my e-reader said the story was 84% finished and I turned the digital page and it basically said 'tune in next time'. ARRGH!!! The author gave me just enough to keep my addiction going but not enough for the greedy little reader in me to be fully satisfied. But as is my predictable nature I'll be up front and center for the release of The Arrangement 11...whenever she can fit the time in to have it published, that is.
Scorched Treachery by Rebecca Ethington
While Joclyn is trapped in the tormenting hell of Cail’s mind, the battle around her only continues to grow and spread.
*
Edmund has infiltrated the underground hallways of Prague, guiding the massacre that would end the lives of the last of the great magical race. In her attempts to stop him, Wynifred has been captured and her magic restrained. Chained up in the ancient dungeons of Prague, her fate is left in the hands of her father, who has tried to kill her before.
With Ryland’s screams and Sain’s fragmented sights as her only company, Wyn must rely on something that has been hidden deep inside of her for centuries to help them break free.
*
Ilyan’s whole life has been building up to one purpose. Protect the Silnỳ. He knows what he must do, and he has no doubt in his ability to do so. But when his father’s magic removes Joclyn’s mind from her body, he is left protecting the shell of the one person he loves. Desperate to find a way to break her free of her prison, he makes a choice. And that one choice changes everything. Now, Ilyan finds himself bound to Joclyn in a way that he never knew to be possible. They say that blood is thicker than water, but Black Water burns, and Ilyan’s heart may not be strong enough to keep it pumping through his veins and give the girl he loves back into his brother’s care.
Even if he can, it may not be safe to do so.
Rate & take
This one was a tough read in a way because 80% of it was written about a time period that was covered in book two, (see this post) only this was from the perspective of others in the story. I'm not saying it wasn't good writing, or that I didn't find the new bits learned helpful, but I was really hoping to get further along in the tale before the inevitable end of this book, which as predicted came way too soon.
From the author notes at the end of the story, book 4 will be out in December 2013 and book 5 in January 2014.
The Fault is in Our Stars by John Green
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Rate & take
I had been saving this offering until the time was just right, my stars aligned, and for it not to be summer. That time had arrived so I settled in and fell in love with the story, the characters, and the writing, not even minding the tears I shed for the singular beauty found in the acceptance of the impossible harshness of life. Yes, it was sometimes painful but a good kind of pain that reminds you to be more aware in your own life while you have the ability to. I'm glad I waited to read this and I'm glad I didn't wait any longer.
