Talon by Julie Kagawa

Long ago, dragons were hunter to near-extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only brother and sister known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunter by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garrett Xavier Sebastion has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all too human desires, Garrett begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him. 

I fell in love with Julie Kagawa after her Iron Fey series, and Talon, although not my favourite of hers (because I'm pretty sure that place is always going to be reserved for Ash and Meagan), reminded me why. The characters were all well-written, though I thought that Garrett was especially so, I think I was better able to connect with him than the occasionally whiny Ember, and the Stoic Dante. Kagawa's world-building is one of my favourite aspects of her series because they are always so interesting and original, and always manage to suck you in until you feel as though you are apart of the book and the book is apart of you. And although Talon is set in the human world, unlike her Iron Fey series, it still had an almost magical quality that draws you in. Seriously, I read this book while in Bali, forgot to put suncream on, and got horribly burnt because my mind was somewhere else entirely. I suffered for days. But was it worth it? Probably not, because I was left with a cliff-hanger for my efforts. But I digress. Talon is yet another wonderful series from an amazing author, and although the plot reminded me a lot of Firelight by Sophie Jordan, I still really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Dragons

Announcement

Sorry guys! I forgot to tell you all that I was going overseas for a week! Buuuut I'm home now and ready to start reviewing again. Beginning now, I won't have as much time as I used to to read and review books, as I am going into my last year of school and already have an ass-load of holiday homework kill me. And during the breaks between exams and panic attacks, I will be devoting the time I usually spend reading, to writing! Yes, I am going to have a shot at writing my own book. I've got the plot and the characters all down and just need the courage to take the first jump. Wish me luck and may the writing Gods be with me. 

~The Titan's Tomb

Verum Cover Reveal

You loved Courtney Cole's†NOCTE in all it's dark, twisted, spellbinding, messed-up awesomeness. You can't wait until VERUM (Nocte Trilogy Book 2) releases in February 2015. And now Courtney Cole is going to release an exclusive VERUM excerpt...but only if we can get it to the top 1000 on Amazon!

All you have to do is go to Amazon and pre-order VERUM†right now.†Go, pre-order, and get all your NOCTE-obsessed friends to pre-order, too. If enough people do it, VERUM will climb up the ranks, and we'll get a sneak peek at the follow-up to what's being called "a haunting psychological suspense" and "the rare kind of story that leaves permanent marks on your heart and your soul."

About Nocte

SAVE ME AND I'LL SAVE YOU....

My name is Calla Price. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm one half of a whole. My other half-- my twin brother, my Finn--is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I'm terrified he'll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I'm doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I'm drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. 

Dare DuBray. 

He's my saviour and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I'm afraid, where I belong, where I'm lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. 

Maybe that's ok. Because I can't seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. 

Why? Because of a secret. 

A secret I'm so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. 

You won't either.

>>†GET†NOCTE†ON AMAZON RIGHT HERE†<< >> JOIN THE NOCTE TRILOGY TEASER AND CLUE LIST RIGHT HERE <<

About Verum

    

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

My name is Calla Price and I'm drowning. My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I'm being pulled under by secrets. Can I trust anyone? I don't know anymore. 

The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me. 

I'm entangled in the darkness. 

But the truth will set me free. 

It's just ahead of me, so close I can touch it. But even though it shines and glimmers, it has glistening fangs and I know it will shred me. 

Are you scared? 

I am.

>>†PRE-ORDER VERUM ON AMAZON RIGHT HERE†<< >> JOIN THE NOCTE TRILOGY TEASER AND CLUE LIST RIGHT HERE <<

Iced by Karen Marie Moning

The year is 1 AWC-After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It's a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I'm Dani O'Malley, the chaos filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there's no place I'd rather be. 

Dani 'Mega' O'Malley plays by her own set of rules-and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she's one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities. Dani's ex-best friend Mackayla Lane, want her dead, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What's more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. When Dublin's most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the merci of Ryodan, the club's ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and excpetional skill to figure out what's freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks-and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance. Dodging bullets, fangs and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin-before everything and everyone gets iced. 

I admit that I had a little bit of doubt before I started this book, which is why it took me so long to start it. I just didn't really like the idea of one of my favourite series now being in the hands of a fourteen-year-old character, since this series has some seriously adult themes. But I should never have doubted Ms Moning, there is a very good reason as to why she is one of my top three favourite authors. The change of POV's actually did the series some good, I was getting to the point where I thought that Mac's story was drawing to a close, I was just wary of Dani being the one to take over. But Dani 'Mega' O'Malley is a superhero and a pretty spectacular one at that, and I think we needed more point of views other than Mac's for such a diverse world. Even though Dani is young in age, she is not young in mind, heart or soul, she's probably more mature than most twenty-one-year-olds. I was also worried that the adult themes of the series would either be tempered for Dani or just make me so uncomfortable that I wouldn't be able to read it. But it did neither, Moning made it work brilliantly and I was so relieved that I read the whole book in two days not like I have a butt-load of homework or anything. As always, the characters are awesome, the world-building makes me weep joyful bloody tears and the cliff-hanger makes me want to hurt someone. I really hope we get more Dani POV soon, because she has opened up a whole new world within the Fever universe. 

Rating: 5/5 Titans

"You'll never be 'just' anything. A Tsunami can't 'just' be a wave. I like that about you. Waves are banal. Tsunami's reshape the Earth. Under the right circumstances, entire civilisations."

Books in the Fever Series

Darkfever

Bloodfever

Faefever

Dreamfever

Shadowfever

Iced

Burned (coming soon)

Trace of Magic by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Even the most powerful tracers can't track you if the magical trace you leave behind is too old. But I can track almost anything, even dead trace. That makes me a unicorn, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Loch Ness Monster all rolled into one. In a word, I'm unique. A very special snowflake. And if anyone finds out, I'll be dead, or a slave to one of the Tyet criminal factions. 

Riley Hollins has quietly traced kidnapped children and quietly tipped the cops to their whereabouts one too many times. Now she's on the radar of Detective Clay Price, a cop in the pocket of a powerful  magic Tyet faction. When he blackmails her into doing a dangerous trace for him, Riley will have to break every rule that keeps her safe. Or become a Tyet pawn in a deadly, magical war. 

Before reading this book, I had never read a novel of Francis', so I had no real idea of what to expect from the characters, the writing or the themes. But I have to say, I did really enjoy it. The characters were interesting, the world was intriguing and different to a lot of urban fantasy books, and the speed of the action kept me dedicated to reading right up until the end. But in saying all of this, there was a little bit of genericness about it, especially in the heroin, Riley. However, I'm a sucker for a good romance and magic series, so I'm not focusing too much on it because I enjoyed the entire thing anyways. The world building was one of my favourite aspects of the book, I really felt like I was being frozen by the vicious snow storms and the biting winds. Trace of Magic is a very enjoyable book, and a fantastic start to a hopefully just as awesome series. I will be looking out for the next in the series, so hopefully it comes out soon because I think this series has become one of my new addictions. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Titans

Thunderlight by Adrienne Woods

Vibrant, scale swathed wings...Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few...Dragons

Upon Elena's return to the magnificent castle of Dragonian Academy, she has to face a challenge of a different kind, keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life, away from a dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it his mission to claim Elena as his Rider, and he is proving to be more perilous than at first glance. Everyone knows that Wyverns are bad news, and just as evil as the darkness the lurks inside Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed. But will Lucien's dark secret about Wyverns and Elena's need to prove their true nature cause their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena's friends will be sacrificed this time if she is wrong?

One of my most anticipated book of the year and I absolutely loved it! Definitely worth the loooong wait which nearly killed me. The Dragonian world is one word: frawesome (freaken awesome). Who can go passed magic, love, evil forces, and of course, dragons and dragon riders. The twist that Wood's has given her dragons is one of my favourite parts about the series (although there are many). There isn't just different coloured dragons like in Eragon and they don't just breath the typical fire like in any dragon book ever. Apart from these dragons being able to shift into a human form, they are all different species, from the graceful Swallow Annex which has the power to heal, to the Night Villain who breathes a devastating acid attack. And then there is the famous Rubicon, a once in a life-time dragon who will either become a great force of good, or a horrifying object of evil, all depending on the Rider who claims him. This battle of good verse evil is present throughout every character within the story, and this is what makes it so interesting and readable. Elena is a pretty good character, though she did manage to make me frustrated with her towards the end of the book, but overall, she is a brave and kind person who I was quite happy to go on an adventure with. An amazing second book to the series, filled with heartache, love, courage and betrayal. I can't wait until the next book is released! 

Rating: 4/5 Dragons