Book Nerds Across America

 
 

BLURB:

Taboo Kisses…where desires and inhibitions collide.

Dispatched to the mortal realm from Atlantis to seek the source of a brewing rebellion, Sameya is thrown for a tailspin when she discovers her fated mates. As a siren her songs entice mankind and immortals alike to their death. She’s stunned to be seduced by a taboo union with a tiger-shifter and vampyr. Mating the pair could complicate everything and threaten her freedom. Fueled by her duty to Atlantis, Sameya rejects fate’s wisdom and refutes her attraction to the men.

Taboo Kisses…when the forbidden becomes irresistible.

Gabriel and Maximus have been searching for their mate for centuries. Neither expected the siren they were hired to find would deliver more than a lucrative payday. Frustrated
by Sameya’s aversion to their mating, the men anticipate an empty future if she refuses to complete their union. In a rash move Maximus seizes Sameya and holds her captive.

Taboo Kisses…when the siren is serenaded with temptation.

Trapped and at their mercy, Sameya is bombarded with pleasure. Can her mates convince her to take a gamble on their taboo union? With danger lurking in the shadows, will the choice be taken from her?


Empress’ delights, she disliked the jumbled way he made her feel. Confused one moment and aroused the next. “What is your name?”

“Call me mate.”

Her breathing died, then escalated. She forced a lame-ass sounding laugh past her lips.

“Don’t get cocky. I’m not into leeches.”

“Don’t disqualify me from the running.” He sidled closer, aligning his body against hers once more, but maintaining space with his palms on the mausoleum on either side of her head. “Not when Gabriel and I haven’t had the gratification of making you come…yet.”

She gasped, her eyes rounding at his foregone conclusion. “Better men than you have tried.”

“None of them were your mates.”

“Wait! Mates? As in plural?” She flattened her hands against his chest to push him away, but forgot to add pressure. The hard contours of his body fascinated her more than was practical. “That’s…insane.” But gods the idea fascinated her. “Sirens don’t partner outside our race and we certainly don’t have more than one partner.”

Sameya didn’t realize she spoke the thought aloud until the vampyr thrust both his hands into her hair. After he had her anchored into position, he shifted closer, widening his stride to fit her pelvis between his legs. His hard-on nestled against her abdomen as he tilted her head back by her hair.

“No more insane than a vampyr mating a shifter.” His mouth landed on hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip, licked the corners and crease. Distracted by the exhilarating sensations, she was unprepared to counteract his move when he placed the pad of his thumb against her chin and tugged, parting her lips for his tongue to thrust inside.



Gracen is a hopeless daydreamer masquerading as a “normal” person in southern society. When not writing, she’s a full-time basketball/football/guitar mom for hertwo sons and a devoted wife to her real-life hero-husband. She’s addicted to writing, paranormal romance novels, movies, Alabama football and coffee…addictions are not necessarily in order of priority. She is convinced coffee is nectar from the gods and blending coffee and writing together generates the perfect creative merger.

Many of her creative worlds are spawned from coffee highs. To learn more about Gracen and her writing or to leave her a comment, visit her at the following sites:

So, my friends at Merit Press were awesome enough to send me an ARC of Lizzie Friend's Poor Little Dead Girls. Then, they sent the published version of the book. I decided to use their perhaps mistake as our gain :) Here is what I'm proposing:

You know how we do monthly read alongs here at Book Nerds Across America? Every month, we pick a different book and at least two of us read it together. Then we do one post with all our reactions. Well, since I have two copies of Poor Little Dead Girls, I think we should do that same thing! And by "we" I mean me -- and whoever wins this contest. So to clarify:

If you win, I will send you a copy of Poor Little Dead Girls, which will be yours to keep. You and I (Flo) will both read the book at the same time, and then we'll do a combined book review post. 

And it's so easy to win, too! All you have to do is email me at flo at booknerdsacrossamerica dot com and let me know why you want to receive the free book and do the joint review.

Here is the description of Poor Little Dead Girls:

Perfect people aren't just born. They're made.

The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear. 

But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges. 
The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.

I'm actually really excited about this! I'm looking forward to receiving your emails at flo at booknerdsacrossamerica dot com!

Me and author Marie Lu during the Champion tour

The explosive finale to Marie Lu’s New York Times bestselling LEGEND trilogy—perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT!

He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion? 

Flo's Review
I didn't want to post the full book description up there because it might contain spoilers for the first two Legend books if you haven't read them. Which, if you haven't -- why not?!? Go read them now! I loved both Legend and Prodigy.

Like Prodigy, I finished Champion in a matter of hours. The action that Marie Lu is wonderful at writing continues in this book. I was racing through the pages to make sure that Day succeeded in everything he was trying to do. I also really enjoyed Eden's character in this book. At one point Day reflects that he's most proud of his brother for standing up to him -- it's a powerful testament to how alike the two boys are. All the Eden/Day moments warmed my heart. They also shared a scene in the kitchen in the beginning of the book that was sweet.

And, oh, the love. In this book we really get to see more layers of the complexity of the Day and June's relationship. It's not simply a "different side of the tracks" love story. There is so much more to that, and both characters struggle with it. There is a scene in June's apartment around the middle of the book that just breaks my heart. Day feels like he is broken open and I am, too. Love is so powerful when it's raw and honest like that -- hard, but compelling. And June, at the end?!? 

I appreciate the fact that Marie ended the book the way she did. I know a lot of times the story telling element that she used is not always met favorably, but here it works. I thought using the birthdays was really clever! The ending leaves us walking away from Day, June and the Republic with hope, and like Marie says in the Acknowledgements, "They are off to live beyond the confines of the trilogy; I am left waving to them from the sidelines. I don't know where they'll go, but I think they're going to be okay."

Final thoughts: The Legend trilogy is a must read! Go pick it up if you haven't!

My review of Legend
My review of Prodigy

Jacque's Review: 

The Dream Thieves is the second book in the Raven Cycle series.  The series is about a few boys from Aglionby Academy, a private boarding school, who are looking for Glendower, an ancient Welsh king, who they believe is buried somewhere near their school in the town of Henrietta.  Gansey has spent the better part of his seventeen years researching and traveling the world in pursuit of Glendower.  He came to Aglionby Academy solely because of its location on the ley line, an electrically charged current, which is where Glendower is believed to be buried.

As I noted in my review of The Raven Boys, I felt the first two thirds of that book were very slow.  The ending, however, was action packed and left me anxiously anticipating the release of this book.  While The Dream Thieves did not take off with the same energy level, I did not find this book to be slow in the least.

The focus of this book was more on Gansey's roommate Ronan and his family.  We discover why he has a long history of insomnia and why his father felt it was important to teach his boys how to fight.  We also discover why his father left a large share of his estate to his sons, but forbid them from ever returning to their family home.

There is a new character who is referred to as The Gray Man.  He was hired by someone several years ago to find the Greywaren.  He has no idea what the Graywaren is, but he believes it is in Henrietta because of the same electrical charge The Raven Boys are tracking.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  Since the very beginning of this series, I have been on Team Gansey.  I love his character and hope the psychic's predictions are 100% incorrect.  There needs to be a loop hole for him as well as Blue.

The ending was very mysterious.  Once again, Maggie did not leave many clues as to what direction the story will take next.  I think the Raven Boys quest may expand to include one additional element, but this is purely speculation on my part.  I will definitely read the next book in the series as soon as it is released.  I desperately want to know what happens next for Gansey, Blue, and the rest of the Raven Boys.

Flo's Review
Funny story about this one. Remember how when we reviewed The Raven Boys, Teri said, "Ronan did little for me, maybe his purpose in the story will be clearer in future books." She must be a psychic like Blue's family! I kept thinking about that as I read this one. I got this ARC at BEA and was super excited to dive into it! It was my first BEA read actually.

...but I felt like it was...so...slow....

I mentioned this on Twitter and one of my blogger friends told me that she agreed that it was a slow pace, but that was part of the charm. I am glad she found it charming. I just found it slow.

This book, however, did turn me from Team Adam over to Team NOAH! I mean, I'm not sure he can even be a Team, but I'm making him one. No offense to Jacque and Tee, but Gansey just doesn't do it for me. I did like learning more about both Adam and Ronan in this book.

Final Flo synopsis? I made it through, but only because I kind of had to push myself. I'll keep on with the cycle, but I hope that the pace picks up a bit in Book #3.