Landon by E.A. Knight

*ARC received for an honest review, thank you!

Can one night change your life?
I never thought so.

But can one night with the right man change everything? 

I am about to find out...

Fearful of exposing the secret she's hidden for years, Celeste Adams never lets feelings seep into her relationships with men. But when one sinful night introduces her to a gorgeous stranger she cannot simply forget, her resolve to remain unattached is threatened...

She resists the temptation to seek out more, while forging ahead plans to recreate herself as a graduate of the university of Chicago. And she does just fine, until that very same stranger waltzes back into her life as the very sexy, and very unattainable...

Professor James Landon. 

...Suddenly our lives are thrown together on a collision course of the deepest passions. Neither of us know how far this will lead. How powerful these feelings will become. 

Or, that our love is doomed from the very start. 

My heart has been crushed and ripped apart right in front of my eyes, in fact, it hurt so much that it would have been a lot less messy of E.A. Knight had ripped it from my chest herself rather than have me drown in all of these painful emotions! I did not expect this book to kill me from the inside out, everything was going just fine until that twist at the end and omg I will never get this painful stab out of my heart. Landon was supposed to be a fun and beautiful and easy read and, while it was beautiful, it was anything but fun and easy to read. Not many books can lead me to tears, but E.A. Knight, you have succeeded where many have failed, and that ending was not ok. Anyway, about the book...I sat down with the book, and when I finally looked up, the sky was dark, I was crying out my soul, and I had successfully read for entire day without once looking up or eating. The language is beautiful and deeply touches your soul, the emotions so real that they capture the reader and leave them at the mercy of an evil writer. I fell in love with Celeste and James' story, their love transcending all of the painful trials they must endure, never failing to come back to each other. This is definitely a story everyone (above the age of 18) must read, E.A. Knight weaves a story of passion, love and battling fate, I fell in love, and you will too. 

Rating: 5/5 

Mind of the Phoenix by Jamie McLachlan

*ARC received for an honest review, thank you

Moira is a powerful empath, a psychic graced with the abilities to read emotions and memories. Her skill is as much a curse as a gift, for in the harshly stratified city of Braxton, empaths are slaves. Clever and beautiful, Moira has learned to trust no one but herself. Determined to escape life as a concubine, she kills her master, and is imprisoned for the crime. This could be the end for Moira, but the government has a need for her skills. A mysterious serial killer known as the Phoenix has been planting suggestions in his victims minds that drive them to murder and suicide. To gain her freedom, Moira partners with Keenan Edwards, a handsome young detective, to stop the killer. Hunting the Phoenix will bring Moira on a more dangerous road than she imagined, forcing her to confront dark minds, twisted moralities, and her growing feelings for the detective. 

I don't know where to start it was such an amazing ride! I typically don't read many mystery novels because I usually guess the ending before I manage to get halfway, but 'Mind of the Phoenix' kept me gripped right until the very end. Set in a world where those with special empathic abilities are kept as slaves in the early 19th century, readers are taken on a ride filled with mystery and forbidden romance. My favourite aspect of this story was the main character Moira, a strong yet damaged girl way too snarky for that period of time, but it absolutely worked. While this story has some dark and disturbing themes throughout, the budding romance between the two main characters brought some much needed lightness to the story, while not being cliched enough to make me roll my eyes. The dialogue flows tremendously well and it never feels as though the author just forced these two people together, making for a beautiful romance that had me wanting this story to not end omg how long do I have to wait now noooooo! 

Rating: 5/5