The Thorn and the Sinking Stone by CJ Dushinski

*Received ARC for an honest review, thank you!

Warring families. Forbidden love. And danger they can't escape.

Daggers. Roses. Cowboys. Boat Men. Survivors of Earth's Last War, four "families" vie to rule the dreary streets of Rain City through violence and blood. Valencia Hara, Princess of the wealthy Black Roses, is raised in warrior ways with sharpened steel. But she is no ordinary Rose. She is cursed-tainted with the ability to see seconds into the future...

To avenge his father's death, Sebastian Leold, of the rival gang Two Daggers, must face off against the Black Princess, he with his dagger, she with her katana sword. Yet a secret from a shared past leaves him unable to kill the beautiful Valencia; nor can she kill him. For they once knew each other beyond their blood feud...and they have more secrets in common then they know.

But in a world filled with vengeance and violence, there can be no room for love.

My review can really be summed up in two words. 'World Building'. The opening scene drew me straight away into a world of blood and death and vengeance. I could actually see each little detail in my mind, throughout the entire book. Rain City is bleak, dark and dreary, without a single hint of sunshine being able to penetrate the cloying grey clouds. But despite this lack of colour, the world was filled with life and the characters really bring this story to a whole other level. The viciousness of their world turned both Valencia and Sebastian into warriors, not just fighters. But despite the brutality of their gangs, neither are killers, and neither are heartless. Their story is very Romeo and Juliet, but these two characters aren't infatuated pre-teens who just discovered the opposite sex. Even if rival gangs and star-crossed lovers aren't your thing, there is still the magical aspect of it! Seriously, katanas, blood, magic, love, betrayal and vengeance are only the surface aspects of this beautifully written new series. I loved every moment and still wish for more. 

Rating: 4/5 

Take by Nashoda Rose

*ARC provided for an honest review, thank you!

Max

Feelings are a luxury I can't afford. Hidden behind a shield of quiet placidity, I keep my secret safe from those who would use it against me. Until him-the tatted up, self-centered Scar assassin hired to protect me. He takes pleasure in tormenting me, chipping away at my defences as if i'm a toy to be played with. I hate that my body responds to his touch. I hate him.

Jasper

I'm not a good guy and I don't pretend to be. Condemn me if you want, I don't give a fuck. You're nothing to me. No one is...except her-Max. She's my target. And I was hired to do a hell of a lot more than protect her...I was hired to kill her. It should've been simple, but it was complicated as hell. 

I read this book in one night and nearly cried afterwards because I wanted to keep reading! The world -building is just so interesting and different that it sucks you in until you can no longer breathe and then spits you back out again violently from the shock of the story being over. Take really seems like a stand-alone novel and if it is I will crawl into a ball of despair because I don't want Max's story to be over! She had such a tragic and well developed back-story that it would be a crime to just stop it with a single book. I want more! Even if the story continues with a different pair I wouldn't be as sad...as long as it keeps on going because the world is way too unique to stop now! I fell in love with Max's and Jasper's journey as soon as I read the first page and now I want to read all of Ms Rose's books because I want that feeling back again! 

Rating: 4/5

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

*ARC received for an honest review, thank you!

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faery lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it...or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever. 

Hold on, I'm having a bit of a fangirl moment here. Sarah J. Maas I love you and I would read your everyday 'To Do' lists. I don't know where to begin with this review because I'm still halfway stuck in Pyrinthia and also I'm still a lot wound up from that ending! WOW. I have not read a book that exciting in a while...probably since the last book she wrote. I am so happy I started this Friday night because I never would have been able to drag myself away from it to go to school if I had started it during the week, future be damned. Every little aspect of the book was fantastic, from the lively writing to the magical world building that I fell in love with. But I have to say, the characters were my favourite part, they just seemed to leap out of the story and take on their own personalities, but I expected nothing less from Ms Maas. I just love this book so much that I need the sequels on my doorstep by tomorrow, at the latest. Another very special and magical series from Sarah J. Maas that is going to emotionally destroy me, I can see it now. But I will enjoy and savour every single moment of my destruction. 

Rating: 5/5 

"Pity those who don't feel anything at all"

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Verum Launch!

VERUM, the second book in Courtney Cole's psychological mind-bending NOCTE Trilogy, is here.

Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Add it on Goodreads

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.

Get VERUM (Nocte Trilogy #2): Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Add it on Goodreads

Get NOCTE, the first book in the trilogy: Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Add it on Goodreads

Sign up for Courtney Cole's Superfan Newsletter to get updates on LUX, the final book in the NOCTE Trilogy, coming Summer 2015.

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

*ARC provided for an honest review, thank you!

Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilisation and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknown reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha-physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega-burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracised while the Alphas have gathered the world's sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their efforts Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. 

Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power o the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights. 

I was really excited to start reading this novel as soon as I read the unique blurb, and I did enjoy the first part of the book a lot. It has fantastic world-building and interesting writing that kept me reading up until the end, even when I felt like the characters left a little bit to be desired. My favourite part of the book had to be the history behind it all and working out the bond between Cass and her twin Zach. But this happened when there was the least amount of action occurring, right at the start of the book. Where it started to fall flat for me was when the love interest came into play. It felt forced and was just generally unappealing. The two characters had no real sense of heroism and if not for the world building, I most likely would have stopped reading about half way through. I will probably have a look at the next book in the series that comes out, but I won't be waiting in eager anticipation either. 

Rating: 3/5