Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Styxx (a Dark-Hunter novel) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
 5 Stars!


It was LEGEN... wait for it... DARY!
I absolutely loved Styxx. It was epic!
Everyone thought he was an arrogant ass, but they never really understood what he had to go through every day. His family hated him. He would always try to do the right thing even though it always backfired on him.
I would have liked to see more of Beth. I felt like we were just getting to know her before she was ripped out of Styxx's life.
Overall, it was a fantastic edition to the Dark-Hunter series, and definitely one of my favorites of the entire series.

Here are some memorable quotes:
"Life has a way of breaking even the strongest among us." -Styxx
"The strongest of metals is forged under the most violent of conditions, my lord. It is buried deep in the hottest coals and then beat and pounded until it is bent into shape. Then it becomes the strongest, most lethal of weapons. A thing of absolutely beauty and force." -Beth

"The most beautiful heart of all is one that can still love even when it bleeds, and especially after it's been shattered into thousands of pieces." -Beth

Beth is just so insightful. Like I said, we didn't get enough of her though.

Mid July - Mid November reviews

Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers #1)

by J.A. Redmerski
5 Stars

I loved it! It was freaking fantastic. Its a darker type of book, but if you love anti heroes, then this is for you!
I can't wait for the next one because the ending of this one left me wanting more.

Surviving Raine (Surviving Raine #1)

by Shay Savage
4.5 Stars

Great anti-hero type of book.  Similar to On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves, but with better smut.  I really enjoyed this book.  Opposites falling in love, getting away from the bad guys, and decent smut.  Its all good in my book ;)

Dirty Red (Love Me With Lies #2)

by Tarryn Fisher
5 Stars
 
It made my insides feel all twisted! Must.. strangle... Leah!
It was soooo good! Leah is such a conniving bitch. I HATE her! She needs to learn when to let things go.
It was a big cliffhanger so I can't wait to read Theif!

Thief (Love Me With Lies #3)

by Tarryn Fisher
5 Stars

This book took me on an emotional roller-coaster ride and I loved every minute of it!
If you've read the other books in this series, you HAVE to read this one!
I just wish the ending wasn't so... short I guess.  It was more like a highlight reel than an epilogue.  I wanted it to be a little more detailed. 

Rock Chick Revolution (Rock Chick #8)

by Kristen Ashley
5 Stars

Great ending to one of my all time favorite series! I loved Ally and Ren!  Ally is one bad ass Rock Chick, and although Ren isn't part of the Hot Bunch, he's still a bad ass sexy alpha male!
I'm sad that this series has come to an end but I'm looking forward to see if Ms. Ashley writes a spin-off, because we all know how she loves to revisit her characters. 

Stripped

by Jasinda Wilder
3.5 Stars

Grey and Dawson had great chemistry! The sexual tension was off the charts.
I just love me some alpha male!

Ok, so I enjoyed it, but it felt like some parts were skipped. It jumped pretty far into the future after they got together. There was all this build-up about them meeting and finally being together, then it jumps and I feel like I missed out on whatever happened during the missing part. :-/

Arsen: A Broken Love Story
by Mia Asher
5 Stars

Thoughts while reading:
:'( can't... talk through... the tears!
I wanna yell. I wanna scream "you stupid biatch!" I wanna stop reading, I wanna read straight through without stopping. I have to keep reading because I HAVE to know what happens!
Whew. All that and I'm only 70% through.

After finishing it:
WOW just WOW! This book was sooo freaking good. It made my insides hurt from all the gut wrenching emotions I was feeling. I loved it!
It was such an emotional roller-coaster, but I loved every minute of the ride. Btw, I cried through the last third if the book. They were sobbing snotty tears too! I think I may have even screamed into my pillow.
This book is most definitely worth reading!
My one main thought is, is this going to be a Love Me With Lies ( by Tarryn Fisher) thing?

 

Origin (Lux #4)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5 Stars

Loved it! Still one off my fave paranormal books. 
Daemon is still the smart ass that I love.
It was another cliffhanger, but then again, I should have expected that from Jennifer Armentrout.  I can't wait for the next one to come out!  

Mind Games (The Disillusionists #1)
by Carolyn Crane
2.5 Stars

*Buddy read with Glam*
I think I'm being generous with three stars.
I usually like kick ass heroines, and Justine was too wishy-washy for me. 
It just couldn't hold my attention.  I felt like I was missing something because the world building wasn't good. I definitely won't be reading the rest of this series.

Wicked Games (Games #1)

by Jill Myles aka Jessica Clare
3.5 Stars

I say 3.5 because the ending was a little abrupt and I think Abby should have groveled a little more.
Otherwise it was a great book! If you've read other books by this author, you should read this one!
I really enjoy Jill Myles contemporary writing. 

Against the Ropes (Against the Ropes #1)
by Sarah Castille 
2.5 Stars (after much internal debate I decided 2.5 instead of 3)

Buddy read with Glam and Alisa
I'm going to be generous and give it 3 stars, although I think I should say 2.5.
The fighters names reminded me of the Black Dagger books.
Makayla's inner dialogue reminded me of Anastasia's "Inner Goddess."
Makayla acted like a mature grown up woman one minute, then the next, she acted like an immature little brat.
Those are the main things that stuck in my head.

Reaper's Property (Reapers MC #1)

by Joanna Wylde
4 Stars

I enjoyed it. Its dirty, gritty, and everything else an MC book should be.

Cage (Corps Security #2)

by Harper Sloan
5 Stars

OMG!!!!
Wow Cage you were one hot Alpha *fans self*
I absolutely love this type of male character in a book! Harper Sloan, it seems like you took alpha male lessons from Kristen Ashley. Keep writing like this and I will keep reading :)
The only thing I wanted was to see Melissa do some more ass kicking!  

Beauty and the Bad Boy (Bad Boy #1)

by Scarlett Dupree

2.5 Stars

It was good, but it was a little too insta-love-y.
And some of the plot points needed to be thought out better. For example, Dakota said she met her husband when she was 15, then she says she met him at a marathon. I thought they went to school together?
And getting married at 16 just seemed a little... off to me. I think it would have made more sense to me if she was a few years older.
Some of the language was different. It felt more European than American. It might have been better if the settting was in a European country instead of California.
So I think it may have just needed some better editing, and then maybe I would've enjoyed it more. 

Jagged (Colorado Mountain #5)

by Kristen Ashley
4 Stars
 

ARC courtesy of Netgalley :-*
Its Kristen Ashley, so OF COURSE I freaking loved it! As if she could write a bad book.  That will never happen because she writes a bad ass alpha male like nobody's business ;)
Its a must read!

True (True Believers #1)

by Erin McCarthy

3.5

I really enjoyed it... until the ending. It was very abrupt.
I will definitely keep reading this series.

Books I've reviewed since June

Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

I gave this 4 Stars.

Blaire was a little annoying in this one. She was always needing reassurance about why Rush wanted to be with her. Of course it all worked out though. Rush was always fighting for her and wouldn't let her give up on them.
I remember getting teary eyed in the first one, but that didn't happen with this one. It was also pretty short.
Its still a great series though.

 MacRieve by Kresley Cole

I gave this one 5 stars!

Not much to say other than:

I LOVED it!!!! This is a must read!

 Affliction (Anita Blake 22) by Laurell K. Hamilton

I was debating on 3.5 stars or 4 stars, so I'll just go with 4 because I'm in a good mood.

Wow. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I hope this is a new beginning for this series. The last 7 or 8 books were kinda bad. But I love Anita so I couldn't give up on her.
So if you liked the series before Anita's ardeur got out of control, definitely read this one! There are only a couple sex scenes in here, and there's actually a good plot.
The only thing that I was a little disappointed in was the ending. The battle with the big bad vampire was very... easy. I was expecting some more fight out of the evil vamp and he died too easily.
 
Axel by Harper Sloan

I gave it 4 stars

Oh how I love hot alpha males *wipes drool off of face*Axel does not disappoint!
So, if you love this type of hero, read this!

Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

5 Stars
I loved this one!!!  Kaleb is awesome.  Sahara made him a better person... er Psy. 
Ugh, I wish I could remember one of the quotes I loved but here's some:
“So we literally made the earth move? A slight pause, before Kaleb said, I suggest we don’t engage in sex in populated areas.”
“You’ll have to be my conscience.” He knew his flaws, and he knew the parts of him that were irrevocably broken. “Mine isn’t going to grow back.” 
You definitely need to read this one.  This, besides Kiss of Snow and Caressed by Ice, is my favorite in this series! 

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

4 Stars
I really like this series, but this book was kinda slow.  Its more about the lull after the big fight.  Alliances are forming, and we get to see a little more from some of the other characters. 
Riaz and Adria were a mediocre couple.  I was actually hoping that some type of mating bond would form between them, but no. 

Tiger Magic by Jennifer Ashley

4 Stars
I love all of Jennifer Ashley's stuff, and this is no exception.  A definite Must Read.  I love the whole "Mine" vibe when it comes to mates. 
Not much to say about this one, except if you read the others in this series, you have to read this one too!

Obsession by Jennifer Armentrout

4.5
Holy broody hot alpha alert! Oh thank you Armentrout for writing this! I loved the Lux series, and now I love this one too. Hunter is an ass and makes no apologies about it. Serena doesn't let him get away with anything. You go girl! She knew exactly how to handle this alpha.
I loved hearing about the Arum side of things. It definitely makes us see that things aren't always black and white; the Lux aren't all good, and the Arum aren't all bad.
I can't wait to read more!

Jet by Jay Crownover

4 Stars!  My absolute favorite type of main character!  Bad boy?  yes!  Alpha male?  oh yes.  Rockstar? check!  Tattooed? of course!  Pierced?  oh yeah baby... and all over too!  *insert dreamy sigh here*
Oh Jet, I absolutely loved you!  He was such a great guy, and he knew what he wanted, so he went after it.  ooh and those skin tight pants left little to the imagination.  
Now Ayden... ugh she was the "I have to leave him alone to protect him" type of character.  She runs away all the damn time!  grr! But she was sassy, and I liked that about her.
They did get their HEA, and I can't wait to see what's in store for Rome and Cora!

It Had to be You by Jill Shalvis

4 Stars!  I love this series!  It has such a feel good vibe.  This one was a sweet love story with a guy trying to escape and a girl that felt like everyone was against her.
Ali was so sweet and I loved that she was a little feisty.  And Luke, mmm mmm mmm.  He was the ultimate fixer.  He had to help Ali even though all he thought he wanted was peace and quiet, but he really just needed Ali.
So if you've liked the other books in this series, you won't be disappointed by this one!

Phoenix Rockstar by Bec Botefuhr

I gave this book 1 star.  I probably should have only given it .5, but I was feeling generous.  This book had a great concept, but the editing was so horrible I kept thinking to myself "why the hell am I reading this?!"  There were too many grammatical errors to count, and plenty of names that weren't capitalized, and just some stupid scenes in the book.  For example, the whole role playing of the Dirty Dancing scene just felt out of place.  Ugh, just awful! And it had a cliffhanger!  NO!  I will not be reading the second book.  I will not read anything by this author again, unless I am positive that there has been some kind of significant change in the writing style. 

Zane by Nicole Edwards

I gave this book 4 stars.  I liked it better than Kaleb.  V was pissing me off because she was trying to protect Zane by keeping him at a distance.  That is my least favorite quality in a character.
Zane was more dominating than Kaleb.  He had the Dom voice going on.  But there wasn't really any BDSM in this book.  There were some mfm and mmf scenes.  Smut level in this one was a little above medium. 
I loved how Zane was willing to try anything at least once.  He was fearless, and he loved V like crazy. 
Great story!  I can't wait to see what happens with Travis!

Kaleb by Nicole Edwards

I gave this book 3 stars.  I don't have too much to say about it.
I never really connected with Zoey.  She was said to be a very strong woman, but all I got out of the book was that she was weak.  Where was this strong woman that they kept mentioning in the book? 
Other than that, the book was pretty good.  The smut level was medium, because it was all about the sex and not about the foreplay.  They just jumped right in without warming up.  There were a few threesome (mfm) scenes.
I was thinking that there was going to be some BDSM in here, but other than Kaleb being an alpha male, there was none. 
So, if you like a smutty book with some mfm action and a happy ending, this is for you. 

Abbi Glines - The Vincent Brothers

I gave this book 3.5 stars.
It was pretty good, a bit short, but still good.  It kind of annoyed me because some things were just skimmed over.  For instance, Sawyer and Lana would be talking about going somewhere (like it was important), and then it would completely skip over where they were going.  Then a new chapter would start.  Why mention something and make it sound important when you're just going to skip right over it? 

We never really got to see Sawyer and Lana as a couple.  They ended up fighting before we got to see them together.  It would have helped a little with character building too.  Lana seemed like a weak girl who ran away when things get difficult.  Sawyer was the typical male who said or did stuff without thinking, i.e.the whole "distraction" comment and also Ash's barfing debacle.

Lana spent 3 weeks thinking Sawyer was with Ash without even asking either of them.  Seriously?!  I mean, who goes that long (especially when everyone is trying to explain themselves) without checking voicemails/text messages?  COMMUNICATION PEOPLE!! If I saw a bunch of messages on my phone, I'd have to check it out just to get rid of the notification!

God, sound like a Debbie Downer don't I? I really did enjoy this book though.  So if you're a person who likes baby alpha males (I say 'baby' because he's a young'un) who love their women fiercely, then this book would be good for you.

First Post!

I'm Nikki, and I like to read.
So this is the first time I've done a blog.
Basically since I'm horrible at writing reviews,  I'm going to try to put my thoughts on here.