Review: Elixir

Elixir

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Released: November 27, 2012

Published by: Spencer Hill Press

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM DEITY**

(Don't say that I didn't warned you)

Description from Goodreads:

Aiden St. Delphi will do anything to save Alex. 
Even if it means doing the one thing he will never forgive himself for. 
Even if it means making war against the gods.

Reading this was like a punch to the gut. Reading it multiple times since the first time is just personal torture. I NEED APOLLYON NOW. Let's review before I go completely crazy. Or even crazier than I already am. 

Plot. I just love Aiden's point of view. I just love Aiden. This novella made me cry. And yell. And basically make my mom decide that she should seriously consider taking me to the loony bin. 

Also, Deacon is awesome as well. The St. Delphi boys are delicious sexy the best brothers ever.

CAN WE PLEASE FIX ALEX!?!?! KATY AND I CAME UP WITH A WONDERFUL PLAN! 

(Which involves Caleb coming back from the dead, Seth dying, and Alex and Aiden riding off happily ever after into the sunset)

Excuse me while I go cry and scream in the corner. 

Alex on the elixir?

Cass demonstrates my feelings beautifully. 

Alex all evil and connected with the stupid idiot? I mean Seth. No. I mean stupid idiot.  

Thank you, Quinn.

Now that my feelings are all miserable and upset, why do I continue reading this?

That's right. Jennifer Armentrout is an AMAZING author and even though she causes me pain, I just love her writing. 

Now how long until Apollyon? This wait is killing Katy and I. We are slowly going crazy together. At least I have my roommate in the mental ward.  

If my totally unstructured and ranting of this book makes you want go buy it, then do it. PLEASE DO IT. You shall not regret it. Well...your heart will because it will be shattered into a million pieces. But you will enjoy every single bit of it. Every. Single. Bit. 

More-like-my-thoughts-than-a-review by Sammi

follow on Twitter:

bookworm4vt

Review: Opal

Opal

Jennifer L. Armentrout

To be Released: December 11, 2012

Published by: Entangled Publishing

Description from Goodreads:

 

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

 

Do you hear that faint, heartbroken sobbing? Just listen real closely. Can you hear it now? Good. What is that, you ask? That would be me, sobbing over the ending of Opal.

 

Wow. What an emotional rollar coaster. I laughed. I cried. I laughed again. I fell head-over-heals for the perfection of Daemon again. Then I laughed some more. Then I bawled like a baby terrified of sitting on Santa's lap (I'm in a Christmas mood...).

 

Jennifer Armentrout, you did it again. You wrote this AMAZING book filled with everything I wanted and then killed me with the ending. WHY MUST YOU KILL ME WITH THE ENDING? My heart has suffered enough!

 

I swear all authors get together for this big conference and skeme on how to kill their readers. How many books I have read the past two months that have had killer cliffhangers? It started with Mark of Athena then went downhill. So this must be the Apocalypse. Or it's the extreme book nerd version of it anyway.

 

But other than the ending, the book was perfect! I was never bored and I had to sneek read it while my aunts were shopping. I just left the store and sat in the warmth of Jace (my car), snuggled up with Alyss's kindle (because my copy is not in until Wednesday -_- ) and just read. About a hour later they returned, completely unsurprised to find me reading. But the book was just SO good. If it wasn't illegal and a complete suicidal idea, I would have probably been reading it as I was driving the hour drive to the only Barnes and Noble in Vermont. It was pretty bad when I even begged my aunt to read it aloud for moi. Yeah...Bad. (She didn't, by the way. She told me to get my nose out of the book, kindle, whatever).

 

Love Katy. Love Daemon. Love Dawson. Wish Dee was a tad bit nicer in the beginning, but she redeems herself. Ash is slowly warming up to me. Slowly. Why Carissa? And again I must ask, WHY MY ADAM? Lastly, Blake needs to go die in a hole. Or Daemon needs to torture him. Either way, Blake just needs to go. Seriously. I freaking hate that guy.

 

I cannot wait for Origin! AAWW!! I WANT THIS ONE MORE THAN APOLLYON. Funny, last week I would have never thought I would say that. Ever. BUT OH MY GOD IT IS GOING TO BE A LONG WAIT.  

 

Review by Caly

follow on Twitter:

@bookworms4vt 





Opal, Opal, Opal

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

The fabulous Jennifer Armentrout is having an ARC giveaway of the totally drool worthy Opal on her blog (link below).

I am so freaking excited for this book. I absolutely love Jennifer Armentrout's books and I love Daemon and Aiden and Dawson and Caleb and all of the characters in her books.

So do you want a chance to get your hands on a coveted copy of Opal early?? Try your luck and enter this giveaway! I am and I'm hoping for the best! I already have a waiting list starting. (And before you freak out Katy, you are on top, seeing as you have the same name as the main character ;)

Enter, enter!

~Caly

http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/want-to-read-opal/

Opal Trailer Reveal

Opal (The third book in the Lux Series)
Available in both print and digital version on December 18, 2012
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Official Opal Book Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oLkv3DotkqM

Check out Jennifer L. Armentrout on the following sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Official Website

Anybody else excited for Opal? My friend Katy and I are FREAKING OUT. I already have a waiting list for the book and I have not even ordered it yet. SO FLIPPING EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK!

~Caly

Book Review: Deity

Deity

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Released: November 6, 2012

Published by: Spencer Hill Press

 

 

Description from Goodreads:

 

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "


Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

 

So this review is going to be short and sweet, just like all of the reviews this month. It's NaNoWriMo! And I need to desperately catch up on my 50,000 words! Balancing everything (homework, college crap, work, school) has been so hard! AAWW! How do I find time to read?

 

Wait. That was a stupid question. I always find time to read!

 

So let's just choose some gifs that show my feelings during this very emotional rollar coaster, shall we?

 

At first, I was "Get the hell out of there Seth. Nobody likes you." (Except for Buffy and Mags. But they are so crazy. Team Aiden all the way.)

 

 

During it I was like this:

 

 

And this:

 

 

And then I read the ending.

 

 

 







Wow. This book was just...Wow. I cannot wait for Apollyon. I'm glad it's not a year long wait. I think I would go crazy (More like crazier than I already am). The characters are just amazing. Love Alex. Love Aiden. Hate Seth. And the Gods are just awesome. Go Apollo! I cannot wait for my friend Katy (who called dibs on the book first) to finish it so we can discuss. Jonna is confused because she never read them before. My mom thinks I'm crazy. And Buffy starts screaming every time I begin "OH MY GODS YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN DEITY...". I tend to be a notorious spoiler.

 

Read the Covenant books. I'm not asking. I'm demanding. Jennifer Armentrout is an amazing writer and her stories suck you right into them. It is hard to put them down and next thing you know, it's 2 in the morning, and you are sobbing your eyes out at the horrible cliffhanger. This was the second book in two months that the ending killed me. At least it won't be a year long wait like the other one.

 

READ THESE BOOKS. You will not regret it.

 

Review by Calypso

follow on Twitter: @bookworms4vt

 



Cover Reveal: Apollyon and Deity Book Trailer

Deity (The third book in the Covenant Series)
Available in both print and digital version on Nov. 6, 2012
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Official Deity Book Trailer
http://youtu.be/RIqKBYMSTU8

Did you read an ARC of Deity and been dying to get your hands on Elixir, the novella told in Aiden’s POV and picks up right after the end of Deity? Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. The free novella is available now. DO NOT read Elixir if you have not read Deity. It will spoil Deity for you and not to mention, you will have no idea what is going on.

Elixir will be available in print. Kindle, and Nook formats on November 27, 2012.

Click HERE to read Elixir.

And we’re super excited to share the cover for the 4^th book in the Covenant Series, Apollyon, which is due out April 2013.

 

 

Check out Jennifer L. Armentrout on the following sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Official Website

EEEEPPP!! I am excited! Must read these books ASAP!!

Love, Love, Love these books!

~Caly

Review: Cursed

Cursed

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Released: September 18, 2012

Published by: Spencer Hill Press

 

Description from Goodreads:

 

Dying sucks-- and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out.

However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

 

Once again, Jennifer Armentrout has sucked me into another amazing book. While I did not love this one as much as the Covenant and Lux novels, she still had me hooked from the first page to the very end.

 

This is not the first "Touch of Death" book I have read, but it is probably one of my favorites (The other being Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi). I love Jennifer's own personal spin on it and it left me in the early hours of morning happy and content with the ending. It is just one of those books that you cannot put down and next thing you know, you have school in three hours and you just finished this amazing book (by the way, I fell asleep in Pre-Calc because I finished this book at four in the morning. Good news: I still somehow managed to pass my quiz ☺ )

 

I really want to give Ember a hug. Then again, I don't. I really enjoy living, thank you very much. I don't like how horrible some of the people treated her. I just felt bad for her. I felt like punching Phoebe in the face. Kurt just needed to leave and never look back. I semi warmed up to Cromwell in the end. But Olivia...God, I liked her at first. Then she just totally ditched Ember for Ms. Liz. She kind of treated her like how everybody else was: an outsider. That bugged me. A lot. I would be pissed if my little sister did that to me.

 

Yay for another Armentrout Perfect Man. First Aiden. Then Daemon. Now Hayden. I'm praying for the next one to be a Braydon. Let just take some time to admire how lovely and sexy these characters are. Some of the best fictional guys out there. Anybody disagree? (Well...Magnus says Seth is better then Aiden. As if. Aiden is the best. Clearly. Totally swoon worthy).

 

The plot was filled with twists and turns that kept you guessing and wanting more. I finished this book in eight hours. I started and could not stop. It is one that just stays with you even after you finish it and you are acting like a zombie from the three hours of sleep you got (Funny how today in Behavioral Science, we were talking about causes of sleep deprevation. Hehe. Oops).

 

So people, READ THIS BOOK. It is once again, another amazing Jennifer Armentrout novel. This woman is a writing machine with totally swoon worthy lead guys and fast paced plotlines. Who wouldn't love this book? It is downright impossible.

 

Review by Caly

follow on Twitter: @bookworms4vt



Cover Reveal: Opal

I'm a little late for this reveal (I blame my cursed AP Euro notes) but......

The cover for Opal, the next book in the Lux Novels, was revealed!

Did you hear that scream? That was me fangirling over its perfection.

Offical Description:

No one is like Daemon Black.When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

I cannot think logically right now. I love the first two books. I love Jennifer Armentrout's Covenant novels. I need this one now, like, right now.

Opal will be out December 11, 2012 in print and digital format.

I. Cannot. Freaking. Wait.

~Caly

Review: Onyx

Onyx

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published by: Entangled Teen
Released: August 14, 2012

(It's so amazing, it got the cool 5 stars ☺)

Before we get on to the review, I would like to introduce my guest reviewer, my bestie, Alyss.

Me: Say hi Alyss.

Alyss: Hi Alyss.

Me: You are sarcastic like Daemon.

Alyss: I will take that compliment.

Now that she is introduced, let's get on to the review ☺

Description from Goodreads:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

No Cons. Basically all pros.

Me: This book was flipping fantastic.

Alyss: Indeed it is.

Me: My favorite book I have read this year.

Alyss: The year isn't over yet.

Reading the book.

Me: It did not take me long at all to read this book.

Alyss: Me neither.

Me: I was reading it during work, at home on the couch...

Alyss: I was reading it after you woke me up while you were at work.

Me: So then we just kept texting each other back and forth.

Alyss: Yup. Gooood times!

The Plot.

Me: I was not bored at all.

Alyss: It was good but it seemed like it should have ended but just kept going.

Me: I lived in that book for 4 hours of my life.

Alyss: *Laughs* I was dreaming of that book.

Me: It did seem just little dragging, especially towards the end.

Alyss: It was a false ending. I thought it was going to end but there was more pages!

Me: The ending was a semi cliffhanger, yet happy. Sort of. When does Opal come out again?

Bonus Chapter. Daemon's POV.

Me: Was the bonus chapter in the Kindle version?

Alyss: WHAT!?!?! GIMME!

Me: Guess that answers that. So I'm going solo on this one. I love being in Daemon's head. You get to see him though his thoughts and everything and not through Katy's. It's like he's a different guy in his POV. I love that because I am in love with Daemon *Looks over* She's still reading.

The Characters. The ones we love.

Me: Was it me or was Daemon just even more sexier in this book?

Alyss: There was scary protective Daemon. Hot, sexy Daemon, sensitive and caring Daemon. All of them are so great!

Me: You forgot sarcastic, angry Daemon.

Alyss: HE'S MY FAVORITE!

Me: Thoughts on Katy in this book?

Alyss: She denied those feelings for Daemon way to long. And she didn't believe his feelings. And then hot makeout sessions after fighting. I don't know. How many times did that happen?

Me: I don't know. A lot?

Me: Dee wasn't in this book like at all. I was mad.

Alyss: But Dee and Adam were together and that made me happy.

Me: Until the waterworks began.

Alyss: Yes. You texted me saying you were crying. And then I was crying. Ugh.

Alyss: I like how little Ash and Andrew were in this book. Matthew was pretty cool.

Me: I still hate Ash and Andrew.

The Characters. The ones we hate.

Me: Blake should go die in a hole.

Alyss: Blake should go die in a hole. Along with Will. But I think he will be back. Doesn't make me happy, but...

Me: She tarnished the wonders of the name Will!

Random other things.

Me: I stalked the UPS guy as I waited for this book to show up.

Alyss: But you were a horrible stalker because you missed him!

Me: I WAS WATCHING MULAN!!

Alyss: No excuse.

Me: He hid the book on me! I was playing hide and go seek with Onyx. Not happy at all.

Alyss: I finished reading Onyx in K-Mart.

Me: I was home. Alone. Wondering what to do next with my life.  

Me: The cover was prettiful.

*MINOR SPOILERS*

Alyss: Bethany and Dawson. (Note from Caly: Alyss just said a lot of words and I cannot type fast enough)

Me: I hate how Bethany is crazy! And Dawson...WHY MY DAWSON??

Alyss: He's an empty hole.

Me: *Sniffle* I want them to be okay. I freaking love those two.

Alyss: I think there is going to be some issues. It's going to strain Katy and Daemon's relationship. Blah Blah. Other words.

Me: You suck the happiness out of my life.

Alyss: That's why I'm your best friend!

Me: Poo face.

Alyss: Love you too.

Me: *Gets up and leaves room* WHAT DO YOU AND MAGNUS MAKE ME SAD! HAPPY STUFF GUYS! HAPPY STUFF!

*END OF SPOILERS*

Me: So yeah. This book is AMAZING.

Alyss: Totally amazing. Go read it now.

Me: Demanding!

Alyss: But you need to read the first one first, otherwise...you may be confused.

Me: Confusion does suck.

Review by Caly with the lovely aid of Alyss





Review: Shadows

Shadows

(Lux Novel 0.5)

Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published as ebook by: Entangled Publishing
Released: February 21, 2012

So Shadows takes place before the events in the first book, Obsidian. It's the story on how Dawson and Bethany come to disappear before Katy moves to West Virginia. So Bethany Williams moves to the middle of nowhere West Virginia in order to stay close to her uncle who is dying of cancer. She never expected to meet Dawson Black, or his jerk of a twin, Daemon, and loveable sister, Dee. As Bethany and Dawson grow close together, the truth of what Dawson and his siblings truly are become exposed: Aliens.

I loved Obsidian. Then again, I love anything Jennifer Armentrout writes. She writes in a way that makes it sound like we are not listening to some 30 year woman telling the story through a teenager. She actually sounds like a teen. YAY! If you haven't picked up any of her books, DO IT. You will not regret it, trust me.

I really have no complaints for this book except for the fact that it's only available as an ebook. I was lucky that my bestie Alyss let me borrow her Kindle for the afternoon so I could read it (THANKS ALYSS!!) and I loved it. I didn't think that I would love a character in this series more than Daemon. But wow. Dawson is just so much better and definitely sweeter. Too bad he disappeared -_-

I like how we were able to find out a little more details on the Luxen/Atrum aliens. In Obsidian, it's limited to what Katy knows and so she only knows what Daemon and Dee tell her. Here, even though it's third person, you still learn more because it follows Dawson and Daemon along with Bethany. It was nice to get a more deeper understanding of my favorite aliens out there.

I could tell that Armentrout had fun writing this. She had Daemon say things that totally went against his nature in the first book. Now, after reading this, I can understand Daemon's hatred towards Katy in Obsidian because he lost his younger brother due to Bethany knowing too much.

So reading this was like a stab in the heart because you know that Bethany and Dawson are going to disappear in the end. It's similar to the feeling of reading Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse then going on to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner and knowing that Bree dies in the end. I hate it when authors do that to me. Rip out my heart why don't ya? But, the way Armentrout ended it, made me question what really did happen to my beloved new Lux characters and with the description of Onyx (Lux Novel 2) it makes me wonder. I have some new theories popping up and I am praying that they are right!

So if you are interested in reading the Lux Novels, I recommend reading Obsidian first, because you get a good explanation for everything. But then again, you could read Shadows and be completely fine because there is no major spoilers except for the fact that they are aliens...But if you read the description, you would already know that. Anyway, if you are a sucker for a hot guy on the cover (I mean, LOOK AT THAT GUY! Gorgeous) or are in love with aliens, read the Lux Novels. They are amazing and you don't have to wait a year for the next book. Only 6 months. Which is WAY better in my book ;)

Review by Calypso