Slow-Burning Romance and Blazing Action | The Fireproof Girl Blog Tour + Review

The Fireproof Girl

By Loretta Lost
(Sophie Shields #1)
Published on September 29, 2016
New Adult, Action, Romance
Trigger Warnings: Violence, Sexual Assault, Rape, Suicidal Thoughts

Abandoned at birth, Sophie Shields grew up in abusive foster homes, escaping into books and computers for solace. When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.

That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart.

Until it did.

And she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…

———

When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man.

Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together.

But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…

His enemies might just take him down.

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Kobo * iBooks

The Outlaw: Origins by Alan Janney | Football and Superheroes

The Outlaw: Origins
By Alan Janney
The Outlaw #1
Published February 26, 2016
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Superheroes



This book was provided to me from YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

A masked vigilante stalks the streets of downtown Los Angeles, disrupting crime and rescuing movie starlets. After being spotted on security cameras and thrust into the national spotlight, he is pursued by both the media and powerful new enemies. Little does the world know the Outlaw is just High School junior Chase Jackson wearing a mask and wondering why his body is suddenly…extraordinary. 

The story continues in Book Two of the Outlaw Series, 'Infected.'

Amazon 

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard | Don't hate me for telling the truth

Truthwitch
By Susan Dennard
The Witchlands #1
Published January 5, 2016
416 pages
Tor Teen

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.
Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.
Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.
In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

I knew about Truthwitch since the beginning of last year. The blogosphere nearly exploded with all of the hype surrounding this book. It seemed like everyone, their mother, their mailman, and their dogs loved this book.

But I am not included in that group.

The truth is that Truthwitch is an alright book, but I did not find anything spectacular about it. 

Book Playlist | The Awakening by Melissa A. Craven

The Awakening
By Melissa A. Craven
Emerge #1

Allie Carmichael has always believed life is simple. You’re born. You live. You die. She has no cause to believe that equation works differently for her, but there has to be a reason the world treats her like a pariah.When an unexpected move to Kelleys Island brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life, Allie is thrown by his reaction. He doesn’t shrink from her touch. He doesn’t stutter or make a quick exit. He smiles and welcomes her into his circle of friends, who aren’t exactly comfortable with Allie, but they seem to get her in a way most people don’t. Finally, Allie has a real shot at normal and rides that high right up to her sixteenth birthday when she wakes in agony—an experience Aidan insists they have all faced. She struggles in ignorance, uncertain of what is real and what isn’t. When she emerges, Allie is different. She has always been different, but even among her extraordinary friends, she and Aidan are special. As Allie struggles to maintain her tenuous grasp on the power that threatens to overwhelm her, she worries she will lose herself in this strange new world. A dangerous world where she will have to fight tooth and nail to defend the power and freedom that is her birthright. …only Allie hates to fight.

2015 Dante Rossetti Awards Finalist

2015 International Book Awards Finalist

2015 USA Best Book Award Finalist 

Emerge is currently on sale for $1.99.

Amazon.com/Emerge

And the sequel, The Edge, is also on sale for $0.99.

Amazon.com/EmergeTheEdge

ARC Review | Beyond the Red by Ava Jae

Beyond the Red 
By Ava Jae
Publication Date: March 1, 2016
352 pages

This book was provided to me from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

An alien queen, Kora, and a half-breed slave, Eros, have more in common than anyone would want to believe. Both are shunned and hated. Both just want to do what is right for their people. Both of their lives collide when they are forced to work together to save those that they love. 
They live on a planet on the verge of revolution from the plots to kick Kora from the throne in favor of her war-hungry brother and the threats of rebellious humans. The only way to hinder the constant criticism of her rule is to quickly find a mate to share the throne. But finding love in a revolution is harder than Kora thought.
Eros and his human people are constantly being hunted and killed for invading the alien planets. Only a few nomads are left, despite the alien army's efforts to eradicate the human species. Unfortunately, those few survivors might not stay survivors much longer.
The key to keeping their separate people alive is to bring them together, in defiance of the years of hatred and fear between their species. 

Blog Tour + Review | Omega by Lizzy Ford

Omega
(Omega #1)
By Lizzy Ford
Publication Date: October 25, 2015
Dystopian, Young Adult, Mythology



I received a free copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected my opinion of the book in any way.

Synopsis:

In a modern world ruled by territorial Greek gods, the human race has been oppressed, exploited and now, nearly destroyed by the constant infighting of gods.However, a human girl with the power of a goddess is coming of age. Alessandra is the Oracle of Delphi – the last prophesized – and bears the mark of the double omega. Soon after she turns eighteen, Alessandra is told her destiny: to step between the warring gods and the human race and save her world from certain ruin.For the gods, her appearance marks the beginning of the end – their end. They and the Triumvirate – leaders of the human elite – who serve them will stop at nothing to preserve their power. Alessandra emerges from the forest where she spent her life hidden from gods and men and immediately plummets into a race against time, gods, and herself to discover who and what she is in a world where everyone she meets has a hidden agenda, and those pulling the strings remain in the shadows. Before she can determine exactly what kind of savior her world needs, she must first master her power by completing three trials devised by the Triumvirate to enslave her.One lone girl stands between warring gods and the people she’s destined to protect, but it’s the battle to understand who she is that she must win first.

Amazon * Barnes and Noble

Last List Blog Hop | Strange Skies by Kristi Helvig

Today, I am glad to be a part of the Last List Blog Hop to get the word out about the wonderful authors who are on Egmont's Last List. 

Sadly, Egmont USA, a popular publisher, has closed its doors. This has left its authors in a bad position. They will not have a marketing team to help get the word out about their books. So, Cuddlebuggery organized this blog hop to help these wonderful authors publicize their books. 

The book I am spotlighting is Strange Skies by Kristi Helvig, the second book in the Burn Out series. 

To find the full list of books being sponsored and the rest of the blogs on the hop, click here.

Angelbound by Christina Bauer

Angelbound

Author: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #1
Release Date: December 17, 2013
Pages: 532
Review by: Tessa

Myla knows something is wrong when Purgatory is worse than Hell.

She has to face the real monsters--the human souls who would do anything to create chaos. She also has to fight them.

Myla is an Arena fighter in Purgatory. Her job as a quasi-demon is to prevent evil souls from getting into heaven.

But Purgatory has gotten a makeover since the ghouls took over. Quasi-demons are not residents anymore, but workers who cater to the ghouls' every whim.

When her world is crumbling, Myla is ready to bring her fighting skills outside of the Arena.

Review | The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals

Picture Courtesy of Goodreads

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Naturals #1

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Pages: 308

Review by: Tessa

Cassie cannot forget being at her first crime scene--her mother's.
Cassie is a natural at profiling people. Just by looking at the clothes you wear she can practically read your mind.
When the FBI finds out about Cassie's talent, they want to recruit her for their new program, The Naturals. She would be given the opportunity to work with others like her and help to solve cold cases that have been dead for years.
All Cassie wants is to avenge her mother's death-- by finding the murderer.
Soon, Cassie is caught up in a flow of murder cases. The killer is slowly escalating and Cassie needs to work with the other Naturals to find the solution to a seemingly dead case, before the killer strikes them next.

Release Day Party for Evolution by Kate Wrath

Evolution

By: +Kate Wrath
Series: E #2
Release Date: 11/12/14

Synopsis

Outpost Three is still standing… barely. But the deadliest threat it has ever faced is on its way-- a violent force that will annihilate every man, woman, and child.

With the Sentries under his control and Grey’s army defeated, Matt is more powerful than ever. Eden is little more than his prisoner, but that line is blurring as her affection for him grows. Now, as the Outpost faces total destruction, Matt must sacrifice the possibility of attaining Eden’s love in the vague hope that her past might hold the key to saving them all.

Eden’s journey will begin to unravel the mysteries of her previous life, reveal dangerous new questions, and change not only the future of Outpost Three, but shape the course of history.

This eagerly anticipated sequel to Kate Wrath’s E begins an epic quest into the dark, dystopian landscape of Eden’s world.

Evolution, the second book in the E series, is now available! Get  Evolution and E for only 99¢ each during release week, November 12th-19th, 2014.

Get both books in the E series, E and Evolution, for 99¢ each on Kindle for a limited time only: between November 12th- 19th, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Connect with Kate:

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Google+

Join Kate for the Evolution Release Day Facebook Party:

You're invited! Come hang out November 12th from 8-12 pm Eastern and celebrate the release of Evolution. Woohoo!

Make sure to use #E2Evolution to join the party on Twitter!

An excerpt from Evolution:

We run down the narrow alley and take the first turn, then another. We keep running, moving. I don't even notice my surroundings until, at last, we slow to a stop. The smell hits me first—the stench of piss, of something rotten, all condensed into a small space. Breathing hard, we stand in the street and look around us. We're in a main thoroughfare now, judging from the traffic, but it’s still narrow. I feel squashed, smothered. On all sides, a crowd throngs around us. Most of them are dressed in rags. Hollow faces huddle three or four bodies deep against both edges of the road, dirty, hopeless, and lost. Many of them are children.


I'm scanning their faces frantically before I even realize what I'm doing. "Oscar," I hear myself whisper. It hits me, and I break off before I can call out his name. Before I can start running again, sifting through the masses of them.


Apollon's hand clamps onto mine, but he says nothing. He and Jonas are focused on Jacob, who is shaking violently. Tears are pouring from widened eyes down his face. I want to help him, but all I can do is stand here trying not to break down, myself.

"We need to find somewhere to regroup," Jonas says quietly. "Get out of this mess."
I cast around for somewhere to go, but as far as I can see, it's piles upon piles. People, and people, and buildings looming over them. There's no breathing room. No space. I have to force my breath to steadiness. It's too much.
There is a commotion on the street ahead, maybe a block away. The ragged masses push away from the center, squashing and trampling each other in the process. We're caught in a wave of motion and carried backward, but still we try to look. Where the commotion started, there's a group of figures, similarly dressed in black with blue bandanas. They're moving down the street toward us.


The wave of people suddenly backlashes from the other direction, and we're pushed the opposite way from before. We manage to finally see why. On our opposite side, there's another group of people. These are dressed primarily in white. One of them, clearly a leader, wears a purple doo rag and carries what might be the biggest gun I've ever seen. He raises it toward us.

 Buy Link

Amazon

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Picture Courtesy of Goodreads

The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner
Series: The Maze Runner #1
Release Date: October 6th, 2009
Pages: 374
Review by: Tessa




"If you ain't scared, you ain't human."

The only thing Thomas knows is his name and that he is so scared that he might need another pair of pants.
His memory is gone, but things are even worse when he stumbles out of the black pit he was in.

Welcome to the Maze.

For two years, boys have been sent to the Maze through the same box Thomas just escaped. All of them are stuck together until the Maze is solved.

We are not talking about a regular corn field maze here. Every night, the maze rearranges itself to a brand new source of torture. While the Maze is in its nightly construction, dangers run amok.

Without their memories to guide them, the boys rely on each other to live through every night, but everything changes when the first girl arrives.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Fifth Wave #1
Release Date: May 7th, 2013
Pages: 480
Review by: Tessa




The 1st Wave: Light's Out
The 2nd Wave: Surf's Up
The 3rd Wave: Pestlience
The 4th Wave: Silencer
The 5th Wave.........

"But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield."

The aliens have come, but not in peace. The only thing that will be in pieces is the human race. 

Cassie has survived the first four waves. She is supposedly a member of the "lucky" humans who were not exterminated but the aliens....yet. Cassie knows there will be a 5th wave, and that the odds of her surviving it again are not very high. But Cassie made a promise, and nobody, not even ET's revenge-seeking family, will stop her from fulfilling it.

Elixir by Ted Galdi: Review and Author Interview

Hey everybody! Cassia here! On Goodreads, through The YA Book Club, Ted Galdi offered to send a free copy of his debut novel to anyone who would write an honest review in return. So of course I offered to review it. Once again, thank you Mr. Galdi! Here's my review, and he has kindly offered to do an author interview, so that's after the review. Enjoy!

Elixir 

by Ted Galdi

Released on July 31, 2014
259 pages
Young Adult, Thriller, Action

Sean Malone is a genius. At age 11, he was the champion of Jeopardy!, winning over one million dollars. At 14, he comes up with a dangerous formula and becomes tangled in a deadly plot with the NSA. Unable to do anything else, he flees the country. Years later, he falls in love. But his girlfriend contracts one of the world’s worst diseases. Sean believes he can cure her, but to do that would mean to return to the demons of his past. Elixir follows Sean as he fights against the world in an effort to save the life of the girl he loves.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Heist Society


Author: Ally Carter
Series: Heist Society #1
Release Date: February 9, 2010
Pages: 287
Review by: Max

Katarina Bishop is not your average private school girl--she's kind of sort of a thief. But Katarina Bishop is also not your average thief--she's one of the best.

At least, she had been, and she had been hoping things would stay that way (a.k.a. normal) until her (ex) co-conspirator shows up to bring her back into the world she had been trying so hard to forget.

And Kat finds out it's her father that's in danger from something he didn't do, she has no choice. She has to attempt the biggest, riskiest job the world has ever seen to save him, something that's never been done before, in two weeks and with a teenage crew. All the while, dealing with family and boy problems.

Huh. Maybe she is just a teenager after all.