Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

SYNOPSIS:

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

MY THOUGHTS

4.5 out of 5 stars

Gah, I love dark and gothic stories.  And when those elements are blended into a unique retelling of my favorite fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast???  I don't know why I wasn't all over this book the very second I heard about it.

Nyx is the chosen one.  Stemming from a selfish promise made by her father, the time comes when she must leave her family and marry Ignifex, the demon responsible for the death of her mother and the ruler of Arcadia.

What I like most about Nyx though, is that she doesn't wake up and live every day with an "I'm going to save the world and I'm going to do it with a smile" mentality.  She HATES her destiny, despises her father for getting her into this situation, and resents her sister for being able to live a carefree life.  In other words, she is hardly a Disney Princess.  Still, deep down inside she does truly loves her sister and the country she is pledged to save.  As such the battle between such conflicting emotions starts to festers in her heart until she begins to maybe even loathe herself a little bit.

Still, she does what she must and life as she knows it changes forever.

She is thrust into a world of shadows and demons.  Ignifex lives in a house that changes at will and a life filled with secrets -- secrets that tease and taunt with hints revealed at almost every turn.  As the days and nights pass and with every moment she spends with Ignifex and with his shadow, Shade, she learns that maybe things aren't always what they seem.  Maybe SHE isn't what she seems.  Maybe the entire world isn't what it seems.

Did I mention this story is dark and twisted?   And that is is so so so good?

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the relationship between Nyx and Ignifex.  From the moment Nyx walks into his house, she is determined to kill him - not exactly the recipe for a healthy marriage.  What she finds, however, is that even with the knowledge that he indirectly killed her mother, there is something there that pulls her to him.  Neither is what the other expected and the banter between the two characters is spectacular.  I love good snark almost as much as I love good swoon. 

Rosamund Hodge takes you on an emotional journey through a deliciously dark and thrilling world that I am already dying to reread.  Cruel Beauty is solidly in my top reads of the year - I'm calling it now.   

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for allowing me to read Cruel Beauty in exchange for an honest review.

Facebook Romance Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the FACEBOOK AUTHOR ROMANCE HOP!

Do you love discovering new authors? Well, this is a great way!

Over 30 authors have come together and are each hosting a giveaway on their facebook pages for readers!

Below you will find a linky list of author names. You can ENTER every contest!!!

Please read the links carefully. Some giveaways are US ONLY, US/CANADA, and INTERNATIONAL (INT). Also, the ones that are young adult are labeled (YA). Some are New Adult, and some are strictly for the older crowd. :)

This is a romance giveaway, so no matter that genre each book has some form of romance in it.

The giveaways are a mix of ebooks, paperbacks, ARCs, and gift cards.

Are you ready to have fun???

Get clicking!!!

Good luck!

Review: The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

 SYNOPSIS:

Imagine a world where a woman’s every pleasure, every wish and wildest fantasy is granted by the man of her dreams…

Such a world exists inside the walls of Avalon, an elite private club that caters to women’s deepest desires. Billie Cort, a reporter from the raunchy magazine Illicit, has come to Avalon to interview the club’s most popular escort, the breathtakingly sexy Adrian.

Expecting nothing less from a place like Avalon, Billie is still stunned at how effortlessly Adrian brings out her sexual side. Adrian, too, is surprised to find himself thinking about Billie long after their interview is over. Adrian, of course, is irresistible, but Billie isn’t accustomed to being pursued by outrageously attractive male escorts. Adrian wants her, but soon realizes that she can fill a role in his life that’s more than just physical.…

 MY THOUGHTS:

4 out of 5 stars.

So here's how this book came about.  I saw my friend Cosmo tweet about this book and I put it on my to-read list and entered the contest on Goodreads for a copy.  I never win these things - NEVER -- so imagine my surprise when I did!  Anyway, the book arrived and I was excited but overwhelmed by life and the holidays and put it aside for another time.

After one particular stressful day, I picked it up thinking that it would be another entertaining read, but definitely a guilty-pleasure.  I figured I'd have it finished in a day, be adequately distracted from real life, and move on.

The Fifth Favor is so much more than that.

Yes, there is the ahem...romantical element.  I mean, it is the story of the relationship between an reporter and a male escort.   When you watch Food Network, you see shows revolving around food, right?  Same sort of thing here.

Except once you get beyond the front door, you find yourself immersed in a story of second chances.

What I really really enjoyed about this book is that it wasn't the typical romance where boy meets girl, instant love, stupid fight, plotting friends, and happy ever after.  Adrian's life, though appearing perfect on the outside, isn't what it seems.  And while "Reporter Billie" starts to discover the truth, it is "off the clock Billie" that sees what truly lies beneath the smooth talker with all the right words and all the right moves and all the right...ahem, talents. 

As the story progresses and the relationship between Billie and Adrian intensifies, well, to say that there are challenges would be an understatement.  And while there were definitely times that I wanted to smack Billie for being a bit bratty and kick Adrian for playing the victim, overall I found them to be solid and believable. 

Ms. Reed writes a story that is filled with depth and emotion.  When I started reading, I was simply trying to clear my head.  When I finished, my heart was full.  I've been a reader for a very long time and I have read a lot of books -- it is not often that I am taken by surprise.  This book did just that. 

Tick to the Tock by Matthew Turner - Excerpt and Giveaway

SYNOPSIS:

Dante King is a young twenty something who discovers he’s dying. He won’t live to see his next birthday and time is ticking away to live life before it’s taken from him. With the help of his eccentric and wild-free friend, Wilbur Day, and stubbornly rational cousin, Ethan Knight, the three friends embark on a trip that takes them across Europe, Asia, Australia and beyond.

Dante clings to his past though and the many regrets he has, yearning for acceptance and finally understanding faith. He’s only loved once, and when Daniella Adams comes back in to his life, the pair realise how in love they are – but must battle what they previously did to one another.

This is a heart pulling journey of amazing scenery and adventurous ways, but built on a life that is soon to end. It follows the love of Danii and Dante, finally realising how much they mean to each other but having it ripped away before their eyes. It’s about love and hardship between friends, family, and a dying son’s regret of not being better.

It’s a roller coaster ride of laughs and tears and making the most of life before it’s too late.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon                         Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author links:

http://turndogmillionaire.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477140.Matthew_Turner

https://www.facebook.com/ticktothetock

https://twitter.com/turndog_million

  

EXCERPT:

"Are you ready?" Macca shouts, an inch from my ear.

I nod. He positions the goggles around my eyes and works me into position, and as he warned at the base, I hang free over the edge of the plane: no legs on ground, no clinging on, simply strapped to a stranger and waiting for him to execute his plunge.

This is the moment I've been dreading. I assumed my insides would fail me and nerves would take control, but hanging free like this is the most peaceful I've ever been. He said it would only last a few seconds, but I want more. The world is beautiful. The sea is bright and the land rich. In the distance are the mountains we worked our way up yesterday, and beyond them, the ranging vineyards with purple and green and dark red grapes.

Wellington is somewhere in the distance, as too is Australia and Cambodia and Tibet and Europe. York is just over the horizon, and my parents are at home watching TV or reading a good book. My past is out there somewhere, all my memories and good times and bad. The future, too, hangs in the distance, on a thread and ready to welcome me. Maybe this is heaven. Maybe being high and peering down like this is all the heaven we need. This is freedom. This is glee. This is life.

I want to hang like this forever, but then, suddenly, I fall and my stomach is in my throat, but quickly, I adapt, and I'm not falling at all. I'm simply laying down on a bed of air and wind. I'm a cloud up here, not a boy or a man or a human at all. We're not falling; we're existing in another parallel.

I didn't expect this. I anticipated an up­and­down ride like a rollercoaster or turbulence in a plane, but it isn't at all. The wind pounds my cheeks, but it isn't painful or uncomfortable, it's refreshing. My insides are calm and limbs are light. I'm falling but not. I'm flying and free.

The air is fresh and clean and exhilarating. I didn't think I would experience the air of Tibet or Uluru again, but here it is, more intense and powerful than ever. This is true tranquility, the kind the birds live with, the kind I've looked up at and dreamed about and wished I was part of. I'm one of them, finally.  I'm high and gliding with abundant freedom. I see the sunrise at Uluru again. I feel that aura once more. I'm sitting at the foot of the Potala Palace, gaping up in awe with guilt and the desire to be better. All around me is honest and beautiful. There's no makeup up here presenting life in a different light. This is as a woman wakes in the morning, vulnerable and transparent. You cannot understand love until you see how honest it is, and you cannot appreciate life until you see it like this.

The land below approaches fast, the fields larger now and more distinct. In a few minutes, the trees will be trees, the houses, houses, and the beaches full of sunbathers and chairs and other gifts we're accustomed to. I don't want it. I want to remain here and look down on a patchwork quilt of greens and yellows and dirty browns. I want to see the blue with wisps of white dotted through, and the mountains that jut upward and cast shadows and patterns that can't be seen from the ground.

I'm  mesmerised  by  everything  below,  and  although  I  hear  the  whoops  and  shouts  from  Macca,  they're nowhere near me. I'm alone up here, I'm free and on my own. This is how I want to depart, not in my sleep one night, going to bed like any other and lying helplessly as life slips away. I want to go out with a bang as the ground rushes towards me and reaches, pulling, bringing me towards the light. What better way to leave this strange and wonderful world than to crash into it at such speed. I won't open up and slow myself down and try and survive, I'll bundle up into a ball or tense into a straight and narrow arrow, screaming through the air, screeching through the sky, and then, just before I hit terra firma, I'll close my eyes, say goodbye to colour, and hang on to my final memory.

Alas, the chute will open. I have life left to live, and though it's short and fleeting, I have more memories to muster and more love to offer. I'm a bird for now, but falling closer to manhood. Maybe freedom will remain this time. Maybe I can finally accept acceptance. Where Tibet and Uluru and all other places failed, maybe falling from the heavens will succeed and help guide me into what's next. Maybe I finally understand, or maybe I finally will.

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: A Date of Godlike Proportions by Tellulah Darling

A Date of Godlike Proportions by Tellulah Darling
(The Blooming Goddess Trilogy #2.5)
Publication date: December 20th 2013
Genres: Comedy, Mythology, Young Adult

Synopsis:

There’s bound to be pressure when it takes 2500 years to get to a second date. Which is exactly why Theo Rockman, a.k.a. Prometheus, would rather not go. With his best friend gravely injured and the fate of humanity still on the line, Theo has all sorts of creative excuses to avoid dating swoon-worthy god and love of his life, Hephaestus.

YA romantic comedy gets an epic mythological twist in the free (at select retailers) short story A Date of Godlike Proportions (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy Book 2.5). Being human hasn’t killed Theo, but this date just might.

 Excerpt:

Great. The cavalry had arrived. I flicked my gaze over to my other best friend Hannah, staring at
me incredulously from her position in the doorway, where she had joined Festos.

Festos patted Hannah on the shoulder affectionately before edging past her to leave.
I reluctantly tore my eyes from his retreating figure to meet her bemused gaze.  Allies. That’s what I needed. “There’s too much at stake right now—like your future for example—for us to be going out on a—”

She flapped a hand at me. “Get dressed.”

I looked down at what I was wearing. Which was basically what I always wore. A long-sleeved
black T-shirt and baggy black pants. “I’m dressed.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Pierce,” she called out.

Her boyfriend trotted into the room at her call. “Yeah, love?”

Hannah pointed to a spot in front of me. “Stand there and look pretty, so this idiot gets the picture.”

Pierce nodded. He got into position and, with a toss of his blond tousled head, adopted the most
pouty model boy expression imaginable. He winked at me, obviously amused.

Hannah blinked at him. “Whoa. That’s pretty … pretty.”

“Down, Saul,” I said. “Besides, he’s the God of Love. I’m sure there’s some kind of inherent pretty
built into his DNA. With me?” I cast a skeptical look down at myself. “Festos knows what he’s getting.”

Pierce pulled up a desk chair and turned it around to straddle it.

Hannah kicked my legs away so she could sit down on the bed next to Sophie. She picked her
friend’s hand up to clasp between her own. Her lip quivered as she stared at her friend but she
quickly replaced any concern with a determined glare my way.

She crossed her legs and leaned forward toward me. “Have you seen that boy’s room? It’s like a
hurricane went off in there. He’s going nuts trying to find the perfect outfit for this special event and
you can’t even get changed?” She tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear.

I swung my head in Sophie’s direction. “Did you not notice your bestie lying there unconscious?”
Her hand tightened on Sophie’s. “Don’t be an idiot. Or drag Soph into this. We’re here. Nothing
else is going to happen to her. She needs to heal. And don’t pull any of that ‘fate of the universe’ crap
either. It’s one night. So, next excuse. I’ll shoot that down too.”

I closed my eyes. There was silence for a blessed moment.

“You feel guilty, don’t you?” She spoke softly.

I shrugged, my eyes still closed.

I felt her make the sign of the cross over me. “I absolve you of guilt, Prometheus.”

I gave a faint smile. “I’m not Catholic.”

“Well, I have no idea how to absolve a Greek God.”

“Titan,” I murmured. “And I’m not even that anymore.” 

Purchase Links:

Amazon:                 iTunes:                 It's free at Kobo:

About the Author:

Tellulah Darling
noun
1. YA Novelist
2. Alter ego of former screenwriter and instructor
3. Sassy minx

Geeks out over: cool tech.
Squees for: great storytelling.
Delights in: fabulous conversation.
Writes about: where love meets comedy. Awkwardness ensues.

Website: http://welcome.tellulahdarling.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6429243.Tellulah_Darling

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tellulahdarling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TellulahDarling

My first sucky kiss or the reason why I write YA romantic comedy

I don’t actually remember my first kiss. And believe me, it’s not because there was such a variety of them in my teen years that it just got lost in the shuffle. Which, sigh, is probably another reason I write YA romantic comedy.

At least my characters fare better than I did.

While I may not remember my actual first kiss, the first one I do remember is forever burned in my brain. I was fifteen years old and a cute boy (cute being relative to my age and the decade) had asked me to go to the fireworks with him.

Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Yeah, throw that idea out.

Imagine you and ten thousand of your closest friends packed onto a beach to listen to a deafening soundtrack of rock ballads while watching the light show overhead.

Now make at least half of those people drunk.

But silly, innocent girl that I was, I though this was going to be highly romantic – a night of cuddling with perhaps one perfect kiss as the final firework burst overhead and in that moment of silent awe, I would feel, nay hear our two hearts beat as one.

I remember that we got there about three hours early to secure a spot. The boy had not brought any kind of blanket, so this was three hours of sitting in sand, while families and yahoos settled in around us. But that was okay. It gave us a chance to talk, probably about such scintillating topics as which of our friends was screwing around on whom and what TV shows were we watching.

I remember having overlooked the fact that he didn’t read because he was cute. (Never again.) It did allow a pleasant sexual tension to build between us and by the time the sun had set and the show started, I was all ready for the hand holding to begin.

Now, skip the hand holding. Because in a blink, as the crowd around us roared and the first flare lit up the sky, I felt myself pushed back onto the sand and these giant lips come towards me. Tongue may have been hanging out. And while I can’t remember that part exactly thanks to some very excellent trauma repression, I do have a very clear memory of thinking, “this is going to be gross.”

Which then warred with the thought, “but I am about to be kissed.”

The kissing won out. Because I was 15 and stupid. But it was a curiously detached experience, with me trying to figure out if his lips were growing and what the polite amount of time was that I could allow this before I shoved him off me and grabbed a desperately wanted tissue to wipe off my face.

Forty minutes. That was the length of the fireworks show (of which I saw nothing) and the amount of time he kissed me with those massive, fleshy, wet lips. I take responsibility for not shutting down the action sooner, but my mother had raised me to be polite and I wasn’t sure what the polite way to express “EW THIS IS SO DISGUSTING!” was.

So I kind of tuned out and focused on all the places that sand was creeping in. And not in a pleasant “yay friction” kind of way. At long long last, the show ended. At which point he did sweetly take my hand and we began the trek to the bus stop. I tried one last time to salvage my romantic ideals with a cuddle on the bus, but that seemed to give him the idea that I wanted to kiss some more. Which I so didn’t. So I moved seats. And that was the first kiss I can remember having.

Which leads me good people, to why I write YA romantic comedy. Because while I can appreciate the humour of awkward teen passion, I’m determined to write girls who will push that boy off them for not being romantic. Or ruining the kissing experience. Girls who will say, “Nope. This isn’t working for me.” Who will make their boys smarten up and figure out how to treat a girl, even if they
have to teach the guy themselves.

And I figure if I write enough great kisses, I’ll end up believing that one of them was mine.