REVIEW: The Sea of Tranqulity by Katja Millay

Even though I read this book couple of month ago, I have to share it with you because it was my top read of 2012!

The Sea of Tranqulity by Katja Millay

Published by Atria Books

Purchase: Amazon / B&N

REVIEW: The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle

The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle

(Devils #1)

5 STARS

Goodreads Blurb:

It’s the summer of 1974 and 21-year old Dawn Emerson has only three things she wants to do: compete one last time in the Ellensburg Rodeo, win back her ex-boyfriend Ryan, and become the best damn music journalist at Central Washington University. But all her plans are left in the dust when she’s contacted by Creem magazine to go on the road with one of her favorite groups, the up-and-coming metal band, Hybrid.

At first the assignment reads like a dream come true. Not only will Dawn land some much-needed credibility as a female music journalist, but she’ll finally get to experience life from the other side of the stage, and maybe crack the drunken, enigmatic code that is guitarist Sage Knightly. Instead, Dawn finds herself on an aging tour bus filled with ego-maniacs, band politics and a whole lot of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. When monsters start showing up in dressing rooms and some of Sage’s groupies become increasingly strange and dangerous, Dawn discovers the band is not only going places – they’re going straight to Hell.

And Dawn has a backstage pass.

***

The Devil's Metal is the first book in a two-part New Adult Horror/Paranormal Romance and very (very!) loosely based on the author's exploits as a music journalist. Hell comes in different forms.

MY REVIEW:

Wow, I feel like Karina Halle wrote this book exactly for me. There were interesting and never annoying characters, sarcastic remarks, original ideas and captivating (sometimes creepy) plotline. It was a perfection and I loved it!

Anyway, to sum this book up, The Devil's Metal is about 70s music...

about sex, drugs and rock&roll...

and about some serious demon stuff...

My Dawn and Sage:

Dawn is 21 years old student, dreaming of becoming respected female music journalist. Altough as a woman in 70s, it is going to be very difficult to achieve. Then she gets unexpected but amazing offer - to participate on tour with famous and one of her favourite metal bands Hybrid and write about it. Now things are going to change drastically for Dawn...

The whole Hybrid band and crew was fascinating. To read about backstage events of band tour in 70s was definitely very refreshing experience. But once Dawn sees band's true face and losts her ideals, everything starts to go downhill. Things become very creepy and dangerous. But I do not want to give anything away, you will just have to read it yourself. It is worth it!

When it comes to characters, Dawn was excellent narrator and interesting character - hard on the outside but fragile inside. Than there was Sage, lead guitarist in the band and lead male character overall. Sage was mesmerizing and one of the most intriguing characters ever. I just love hot, mysterious, talented and a little but messed up guys...

"But try as I did, I could not keep my eyes off of Sage Knightly. I just couldn’t help myself. Seeing this man on stage was like watching a lion prowl along the crest of his kingdom. He commanded respect even when he was seated on his chair with only an acoustic guitar at his fingers, ..."

There are books and than there are THE books, the ones that you will never forget. And The Devil's Metal is exactly the type of the book that based on its originality and fascinating storyline, will stay with you forever. Flawless writing will immediately suck you into the story and intriguing plotline will keep you entertained through out whole book. Story in The Devil's Metal was wrapped up nicely, there is no cliffhanger but it set very interesting premise for sequel and I cannot wait to read it!

REVIEW: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

(The Sweet Trilogy #1)

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

 

Goodreads Blurb:

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

* 5 TEMPTING STARS * Review:

My Anna and Kaiden:

“...but even the devout have weaknesses. The demons have to take different measures with different cultures, because some are more accepting of sin, while others are stricter. It’s all a matter of semantics and presentation. They come up with ingenious ways to promote pain and apathy, kind of like marketing schemes. Seek pleasure. Eat, drink, and be merry. Carpe diem.”

Anna is ideal student and equivalent of a good girl. She never lies, because even small harmless lie makes her uncomfortable. She is strongly tempted to all "bad" things, but so far she has always been able to resist them. With her extremely enhanced senses and ability to see and feel feelings of other people, she is aware of the fact that she is different. Than she meets attractive drummer and bad boy Kaiden who seems too be different himself and has answers to her questions. The feelings between those two evoke but when Anna discovers her true origin, she realizes that Kaiden may be too bad for her and being together is very dangerous for both of them. Will she be able to resist this sweet evil temptation???

Anna was quite a naive character at the beginning since she was sheltered from all bad her whole life. However, she was extremely nice and compassionate person, she really grew on me and I ended up loving her a lot.

I really liked Kaiden too. He was destined to do bad things but Anna discovered something good in him, got under his skin and gave him a hope. It was very insteresting to read about how afftected Kaiden was by Anna but simultaneously tried to stay true to his sinful origin.

Sweet Evil was excellent introduction into this YA paranormal series. I was blown away by angels & demons mythology and original twists in this story. First half was not very action-driven BUT it was very interesting to find out all those information about Nephilims and get to know characters. Moreover, banters and conversations between Anna and Kaiden were entertaining and chemistry between them was off the charts. I was pleasantly surprised that even though Sweet Evil is YA story, some scenes were really hot! The second half was undownputtable, I loved every second of it and I cannot wait to find out what is in store for Anna, Kaiden and other characters in next instalment!

REVIEW: On Demon Wings by Karina Halle

On Demon Wings by Karina Halle

(Experiment in Terror #5)

5 STARS

Goodreads Blurb:

When the life you wanted has crumbled beneath your fingers, there’s nothing left to do but pick up the pieces and soldier on. You’ve done this before.

But what happens when you no longer feel like yourself anymore? When fires spontaneously start-up around you, when you hear growling coming from underneath your bed, and you no longer recognize your face in the mirror. What happens then?

Ghost-hunter Perry Palomino doesn’t have much time to find out. Now, the evil she used to hunt is a lot closer to home. It’s inside of her, taking over her life bit-by-terrifying bit, and there’s only one person who can help her.

If part of her doesn’t kill him first.

THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE READERS AUDIENCES ONLY. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW ITSELF DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL. 

My Review:

Oh My God, this was crazily fantastic!!! There are no doubts that Karina is amazing author. This book was full of surprises and I was seriously overwhelmed with all that happened in this book.

"And this fear, the fright that shattered my nerves and made my tongue buzz like metal, it was more real than any dream. Sometimes it was only the strongest, most palable terror that really made you feel alive."

After cliffhanger in Lying Season, I immediately started book 5. Things were pretty negative and depressive for Perry at the beginning, it seemed like plenty of bad and sad things were coming her way. It was breaking my heart to see Perry struggling with her life situations. And than she started losing her mind. Literally. Things got weird, creepy and she had noone to count on. Only Ada. Oh yes, Ada, the best sister in the world. I really liked her in this book, that is for sure.

Things were super freaky in On Demon Wings. All the ghost-possession-mind-losing stuff really scared me and I found most of the is very believable which made things for me even scarier. Everything felt more dangerous and creepier in this book, especially when Dex was not arround. I had scary goose bumps more often than during previous books in these series and On Demon Wings seriously gave me creeps.

So far I thought that Jennifer L. Armentrout is master of cliffhangers. But considering the one in this book, Karina definitely accomplished the level of I-have-to-read-next-book-like-now-otherwise-I-will-go-crazy with her cliffhanger. So seriously poeple, go and read these series!!!

REVIEW: Wait For You by J. Lynn

Wait For You by J. Lynn

Goodreads Blurb:

Some things are worth waiting for… 

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet… 

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her? 

And some things are worth fighting for…

  * 5 STARS * Review:

5 swoonworthy stars! New-Adult romance at its best!

My Cameron and Avery:

Avery is starting college, far away from her home, ever critical parents and her past. She wants just one single thing - to start over and have a normal life with noone knowing what had happened to her five years ago when she was only fourteen and what made her closed and uncomfortable around others. But what she is not expecting is Cameron - popular, extremely good looking and real charmer who is determined to get to know her better. But will Avery be able to run away from her past forever?

I just love books in which I can gradually reveal what had happened to characters and shaped them the way they are now. Wait For You maybe isn't the most unique story ever written but I enjoyed every single word of it. I had a huge smile on my face most of the time and I was completely smitten by hero - Cam.

Oh, Cam... he was smart, funny and sexy. A very dangerous combination! I fell for him in a matter of couple chapters. He was confident, determined, sometimes cocky but never a jerk. On contrary, he was really nice and caring person. Perfection, right?Jennifer L. Armentrout just knows the best how to write truly swoonworthy heroes. Moreover, Avery was sweet, smart and adorably akward. Yeah, she was a coward, ignoring her problems most of the time but otherwise a very lovable heroine. Together, Cam and Avery created another fictional couple I grew to love and felt strongly compassionate about.

Wait For You is about finding something in your life which is wort of facing your problems instead of running away from them. Wait For You is about coming to terms with decisions and concequences you are not proud about and finally being able to move on. Wait For You is beautiful and emotional page-turner in which Jennifer L. Armentrout proved what a perfect writer she is. I LOVED IT IMMENSELY!