My original plan was to add my Kindle book haul to my August Wrap but it just made the post way too long and convoluted. So, I’ve decided to post a separate book haul dedicated to all the books I’ve purchased as ebooks, which, for me, are Kindle books.
(more…)Tantalizing Yet Disappointing: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumoured to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
• BIPOC supporting characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• Disabilities
– Partially blind main character
• Domestic abuse
• Heroine was emotionally, psychologically and physically abused by her father, while her sister was showed in love
• Death (including, death of a past lover)
• The Hero is grieving the death of his fiancée
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3/5 stars
(more…)Sunshine and Bullets by CoraLee June
Series: The Bullets
Release Date: August 19, 2018
It’s a nickname I haven’t heard since I lived on Woodbury Lane, where the houses were pretty but the secrets? Deadly. It was a pet name known only to the Bullets. Rough, violent, and ruthless, they laid claim to the town — and my heart.
I wasn’t supposed to fall for a boy from the wrong side of the tracks—especially not four of them. But they were the only ones who understood that sometimes hell hides in plain sight.
I was the girl with all the conveniences a privileged upbringing could provide. The world only saw two loving parents and a pristine home life, but I knew the truth. And it was going to get me killed. So, I disappeared, from everyone and everything I’d ever known. I changed my name and my appearance, but the scars I carry, they’re still the same.
The Bullets are all grown up now, too — a crime boss, a pro fighter, a bounty hunter, and a federal agent. Life took them in different directions, but they once shared the bonds of a brotherhood forged under the harshest conditions. Together they were fearless. Brutal. Unstoppable.
I’m praying they can find that unity again. If I’m going to survive this, it’ll take everything they have. Because that’s the thing about running from the past.
Eventually, it catches up to you.
• Violence (flashbacks and present)
• Severe PTSD
• Grief over the presumed death of the Heroine
• BDSM (One of the heroes–Gavriel–agrees to protect Sunshine in the present for a price: she must submit to him)
• Does have descriptive sex scene with OW (in the Past, the heroes hook-up with girls right in front of Sunshine at parties. Can’t remember if there’s a sex scene in their POV, but there is A LOT of OW).
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a significant (~5 years) separation between the Heroes and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: eARC
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Note: I was lucky enough to have received an ARC of Sunshine and Bullets (this novel was given in exchange for an honest review)!
(more…)Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews
Series: The Iron Covenant
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.
Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.
Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?
As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”
Hugh and Elara may do both.
• Supporting character is either deaf or mute and communicates through ASL
• Murder
– Hero sleeps with an OW after marrying the heroine (even though it’s a relationship of convenience)
– Even though the Hero and Heroine were married, they weren’t in a relationship. Nor did they care for each other.
• Does have descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
– The heroine walks in on the Hero sleeping with the OW
– The hero also considers sleeping with the heroine’s lady’s maid but dismisses the idea.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
(more…)A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.
• LGBTQIA+ side characters
• Gaslighting
• Emotional and physical abuse
• Violence
• Death
• Torture (off-page, descriptions and flashbacks)
• Rape (off-page, descriptions)
• Allusions to gang rape (off-page, nothing graphic)
• Does have OW drama
– The Heroine gets jealous when the Hero flirts with an OW. She also thinks he spent the night with her, but it gets cleared up nothing happened. The Hero and Heroine were not together at that point.
• Does have descriptive sex scene with OM
– There is only one scene: Heroine sleeps with her fiancé early on in the book before they break up.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Note: This is a review of the second book in the series; therefore, there will be spoilers from the first book below. Click Here to read my review of the first book in the series. (more…)