Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Cover Reveal: Wait For You by J. Lynn

I am an absolutely huge fan of Jennifer Armentrout and it is such a big honor for me to be able to be a part of her cover real for Wait For You, so without further ado, here is the cover:
Title: Wait For You
Autthor: J. Lynn
Publication date: March 4th 2013
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble


Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…
(Summary taken from Goodreads)





J. Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is the USA TODAY Bestselling author of the adult romance Gamble Brothers’ series, the young adult Lux Series and award winning Covenant Series. She pretty much writes everything—contemporary, paranormal, and fantasy. All of her books have one thing in common no matter the name or genre: kissing… and stuff. When she’s not busy writing, which is never, she’s usually hanging out with dog Loki, watching reruns of The Walking Dead, or procrastinating on the Internet. You can find out more about Jennifer by visiting the following websites:

Waiting on Wednesday (30)

Waiting on Wednesday/s are hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine in which you choose a book or books that you're excited and waiting for.
This week's Waiting on Wednesday book is:

Title: With All My Soul (Soul Screamers #7)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: March 19th 2013
Pe-order the book: Amazon / Book Depository

What does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America? It's time to kick some hellion butt...

After not really surviving her junior year (does "undead" count as survival?), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble. She's going to find a way to turn the incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another in order to protect her friends and finish this war, once and forever.

But then she meets Wrath and understands that she's closer to the edge than she's ever been. And when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realizes she can't save everyone she loves without risking everything she has....

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

WHY I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS:
I absolutely love the Soul Screamers series. It may actually be the only series that I'm okay with having so many books because I found none of them dragging or irrelevant. This series is just fantastic and I can't wait to see how Rachel Vincent with wrap it up!

What's your WoW pick this week? Leave us a comment and we'll check it out! :)

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Title: Flat-Out Love
Author: Jessica Park
Pages: 389 pages
Format acquired: Kindle edition
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Published on: April 11th 2012 / September 11th 2012
Source: Purchased in Amazon
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

He was tall, at least six feet, with dirty blond hair that hung over his eyes. His T-shirt read Nietzsche Is My Homeboy.

So, that was Matt. Who Julie Seagle likes. A lot. But there is also Finn. Who she flat out loves.

Complicated? Awkward? Completely.

But really, how was this freshly-minted Boston transplant and newbie college freshman supposed to know that she would end up living with the family of an old friend of her mother's? This was all supposed to be temporary. Julie wasn't supposed to be important to the Watkins family, or to fall in love with one of the brothers. Especially the one she's never quite met. But what does that really matter? Finn gets her, like no one ever has before. They have connection.

But here's the thing about love, in all its twisty, bumpy permutations—it always throws you a few curves. And no one ever escapes unscathed.

New York Times Best-selling author Jessica Park mines the territory of love’s growing pains with wit, sharp insights, and a discernible heat and heartbeat. Her previous novels include Relatively Famous and she authored the e-shorts What the Kid Says (Parts 1 and 2) and Facebooking Rick Springfield.

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I don't think I've laughed, loved and aww-ed in a book this much since... well, ever. I absolutely adored Flat-Out Love. It's the type of book you'd want to read when you're feeling down or if you just want to read something really, really good. I curse the fact that I was reading via Kindle App because I literally couldn't flip the pages fast enough. The story grabs at your heart and either squeezes it or tickles it with a feather (both odd yet appealing sensations.) I literally just want to marry every single character in this book (except for the already married ones,) and yes Flat Finn too. Jessica Park creates such witty and heartwarming characters that you just can't help but love. I flat-out fell in love with this book. Just, *squish*

This isn't the type of book that's all lovey-dovey romance, there's a lot of depth to it. There are issues in this book that you wouldn't have expected to pop out, Jessica Park through me out of the loop way too many times to count. And I was glad that this book didn't turn out to be some cliched and predictable romance, I was relieved for all the swerves and overtakes (haha) this book took.

This book should be called "Flat-Out Love and Hilarity". I love the characters' banter and quips with each other. Especially Julie's with Matt and Julie's with Finn. Julie has a trademark way of interacting and talking to people, it's like she just can't help but be really witty. I love every single one of her dialogues with other characters. I'm pretty sure that I busted a gut laughing out loud too much. Reading the first chapter is enough to show you how amusingly tragic Julie's life is. It's like even in the face of misfortune, she finds a way to lighten things up.

I loved Julie. Like, I'd totally make her one of my BFFFL because she's such a great person. Not only does she have a great personality, but she's also a really cool kind of gal. Okay, living in your mom's friend's house may seem weird, but add on the fact that everyone in that family is uber smart and kinda odd is enough to turn other people off but Julie took that all into stride. She accepted Matt's nerdy T-shirt collection, Celeste's Flat Finn obsession and not-teenager-like language, and Erin and Roger's slight estrangement from their children. She didn't judge these people, she did her best and tried to fix a broken family. She didn't give up on them either, even though she knew that it may take her a long time to get them all fixed up. Julie is one of those people you just know is special, you know that she's destined to do great things, and she did.

I honestly don't know who I love more, Finn or Matt. They're both such great people and their chemistry with Julie is WHOA. But I'm leaning more towards Matt because he's more... present. He's such a sweet guy too! And the guy's a genius! He goes to MIT with a double major for a really nerdy science-y major that makes me want to pinch his cheeks. I love it whenever he'd spout off random science-y or just plain random things. His status updates on Facebook are hilarious too! Oh my gosh, I think I'm just fangirling over him... Haha! But yeah, he's a great guy (I'D TOTALLY MARRY HIM.) Finn is the exact opposite of Matt, because while Matt may be smart and genius-like, Finn's more of the outgoing daredevil type. He likes to travel and help other people out (he's obviously a philanthropist.) And his moments with Julie, even though their only through Facebook/e-mail/text, make me 'aww' like crazy. Trust me, when you read about these two, you'll understand my dilemma.

Celeste was a pretty iffy character for me. Not because she's weird but there were just moments I wanted to shake her and then steal Flat Finn away from her. I don't know if it's her attitude that turned me off but it's definitely something. But as the book went on, I gradually started to love her. I never realized the depth of how much she loved both her brother, I'd always just thought that she just idolized Finn but I never knew that she felt that way about Matt too. I felt so bad for Matt because he's really the most under-appreciated character of this book and I'm glad to know that people love him too (BECAUSE I DO, LIKE CRAZY. LOVE ME, PLEASE, MATT.)

OMG. I seriously adored Flat Finn! Most of the really funny (and serious) moments involved him. I loved how he progressed from cardboard cut-out to movable cardboard cut-out. The story behind him really made me tear up and whimper. The amount of emotions that revolves around him is enough to make a reader cry.

Flat-Out Love is a story about self-discovery and learning to trust other people. It's the type of book that will make you realize how important your loved ones are no matter how distant you may be with them. It's the type of book that will make you cry while you're laughing and it will make you believe that there are people out there who are genuine enough. I absolutely loved Flat-Out Love and I honestly don't doubt that anyone will too. The story is so heartwarming and captivating that you just can't help but fall in love with it.

Rating:

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Stacking the Shelves (19)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews! It's where bloggers can share what they got for review, bought, borrowed, won or gifted (both physical and eBooks may be included! :D)

Here's what I got this week:
Bought:

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves (Goodreads)
The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead (Goodreads)
Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead (Goodreads)

Won:

The Ruining by Anna Collomore (Goodreads)

For review:

*ARC* Siege and Storm (The Grisha Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo (Goodreads)
*hyperventilates* I die.

SWAG:

*signed* Altered bookmarks! So hot...

Thank you so, so much to Fully Booked, Anna Collomore, Ksenia from Macmillan, Jennifer Rush and to my lovely parents! :D Y'all are awesome.

What did YOU guys get this week? Leave us a comment with your post and we'll check it out! :)




Friday, February 22, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday (29)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! :)

Q: We always talk about books that WE want. Let's turn it on its head. What books have you given other people lately?


A: Excluding giveaways, I gave another blogger a signed copy of The Forsaken by Lissa M. Stasse, I gave a friend of mine an ARC of Prodigy by Marie Lu, I give Geraldine a lot of books too, I'm giving another blogger an ARC of Unremembered by Jessica Brody, I gave another blogger my extra copy of Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, and I usually give books as birthday gifts as well. :)

Leave us a comment with your FF post and we'll check it out! :) We follow back.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ransom Riggs in Manila!!

Holy mother of book signings! Another really talented author will be gracing our presence here in the Philippines. This hasn't happened in... ever! Geraldine and I are so insanely excited to meet Ransom Riggs, the New York Times Bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children aka Creepiest Book Ever. I think it's really cool that both Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs are coming here since it's pretty obvious that they're really close friends, so it's great that they're touring-ish together. Well anyhoo, the event will be on March 3rd (Sunday) at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, it will start at 3 PM.
Click the image to be redirected to Fully Booked's post about it.
Geraldine and I are literally jumping for joy right now. Well, at least I am. Haha! Here are some deets about the signing:
  • Registration will start at 10 AM and it will be a first come, first serve basis. Those who have registered will receive a numbered stub that will serve as your signing pass. Lose the pass, you lose your spot (you'll have to line up again.)
  • Only books bought from Fully Booked will be allowed. (Show either the receipt of the book or just the sticker price tag at the back of the book to prove that you purchased it from them.)
  • You will be asked to line up 10 minutes before the signing itself and you will also be asked to write your name down on a piece of paper to ensure an efficient and orderly book signing.
  • You may purchase the books at the event or at any Fully Booked branches. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Hardcover) is at Php 565.00 and (Paperback) Php 399.00.
I guess that's all you need to know! :) Will those going to the Tahereh Mafi event be at this one as well? We can't wait to see you, guys! So excited! Whoot! Thank you so, so much to Fully Booked for making this event happen! You guys rock!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Review: The Vincent Brothers by Abbi Glines

Title: The Vincent Brothers (The Vincent Boys #2)
Author: Abbi Glines
Pages: 304 pages
Format acquired: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published on: December 18th 2012
Source: Purchased from Fully Booked
Buy the book: Amazon / Book Depository

Hot romance is the cure for heartbreak in this sequel to The Vincent BoysGetting a boy to fall head-over-heels in love with you isn’t easy. Especially when he’s been in love with your cousin for as long as you can remember.

Lana has lived her life in her cousin’s shadow. Ashton always made perfect grades, had tons of friends, and looks model-perfect. And she’s always had Sawyer Vincent—the only boy Lana’s ever wanted—wrapped around her finger. But now things are different. Lana has a chance to make Sawyer see her, and she’s taking it. If only he’d get over Ashton—because Lana is sick of second-best.

Sawyer’s heart is broken. He’s lost his best girl to his best friend. And then Lana comes to town. Ashton’s cousin has always been sweet and soft-spoken, but now she’s drop-dead gorgeous as well. Sawyer doesn’t know if Lana can heal his broken heart, but spending time with her might at least make Ashton jealous.

What starts as a carefree fling becomes a lusty game of seduction. Sawyer and Lana may have different motives, but their scintillating hookups are the same kind of steamy. . . .

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Review:

This one gave me severe confusion, extreme reactions and tears. Yes, you read that right. I cried a little bit (note: bawl) when I read this second Vincent Boys book. Here, it is said in the alternating POVs of Sawyer and Lana. I found the story a little bit... stubborn. As if it didn't want to progress. I don't know if it's just me or it really is Miss Glines's writing style, but it seems as if the whole story revolved around just one problem. For the entire book. I mean, I know most books have only one main problem, but in this case, I felt that it could have been a half of the entire book problem, but it was made into a stretch, therefore making it kind of cliche or repetitive. I already figured out a cycle. Lana forgives-Sawyer regrets-Does something Ashton related. Repeat.

While I found the problem a bit too on-the-surface, I must say that even though the story or plot was overused, Miss Glines was able to make it exciting and thrilling for us readers to appreciate the story. The characters were clear, bright gems on their own and they didn't cloud each other out. I love how the characters were so well-developed so that they didn't clash with each other. It's like each character sticks to your brain. The framework and grounding of the story was very believable and the creation of characters was very detailed.

What I really loved in this book is how Lana had a makeover. Like from frumpy nun to smokin' sister. She literally stepped out of the shadow of her cousin, Ashton. What can I say, I'm a sucker for makeovers. I love how independent and strong and brave she is on the inside. While most people would withdraw and hide in depression, Lana went out there and tried to conquer her loneliness. She tried everything she could do to get a feel of that love she already has inside of her. I can tell that she's just waiting for her shot at things. When she starts hanging out with Sawyer, though. I found it a teensy bit annoying that she (Lana) noticed EVERY SINGLE THING that Sawyer comes in contact with. It drives me crazy. (So what if your knees bumped? That's great, but no one really cares. No offense.) While I believe that chocolate can calm me down, I don't think so right now. I really admire her spirit and forgiving personality, but we should always remember that there will be horrible people that will take advantage of that kindness.

Sawyer on the other hand, acted like a grade A douche. He was still really hung up from his past with Ashton and really couldn't bear to see her with Beau. It seemed like Lana was just a distraction or something. Sure, he was attracted to her, but it felt like it was only so because she was showing too much skin or was really gorgeous. It was like he still loved Ash and would do ANYTHING for her and for Lana, Meh. It's like she always came in second. Even in the end, when Ashton comes crying to Sawyer, he chooses Ashton over Lana and eventually ditches her. She even forgave him around thrice for doing so, but he still wouldn't change. Only then when Lana left was where he felt remorseful (this is where the tears come in). He started crying man-tears and punching holes in the wall and going kind of crazy. This part I felt extremely sad for him. But also for Lana. And I'm happy that this is a happy ending or else I would have ripped the pages away from the books and burn it.

V. Brothers is the ideal chick-lit read for summer. It doesn't really matter which book you start with, but if you start from the second one (like me) it is inevitable that information will be fast-forwarded to other people, too. (Especially if its a gossip or something.)

Rating:
.5


Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Waiting on Wednesday/s are hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine in which you choose a book or books that you're excited and waiting for.
This week's Waiting on Wednesday book is:

Title: Love in the Time of Global Warming
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date: August 27th 2013
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Book Depository


Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy.

In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.
(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Why I'm excited for this book:
I've always been a huge fan of Francesca Lia Block because there's always something so magical about her writing. The way she words things and how she creates such unique and tantalizing worlds. Her books are dark, compelling and just enthralling. I always anticipate her next books, and this one is not an exemption. Not only is the cover beautiful but the summary has Francesca Lia Block's trademark intrigue and uniqueness.

What are you waiting for this week? :) Leave us a comment and we'll check yours out!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Tahereh Mafi in Manila!!

I'm sure you're all currently thinking: Tahereh Mafi? In Manila? Oh. My. Cupcake. Am I seeing right?

And our answer to this is: If you have 20/20 vision, then you're most likely seeing what I'm seeing. Tahereh Mafi IS being brought to Manila by the super awesome National Book Store! Cue applause. The event will be on March 2nd at Glorietta 1, it'll start at 4 PM.
Click the image to be redirected to National Book Store's post about it.
Geraldine and I are super excited to go to the signing (like WHOAAA excited) but before we can enjoy the event, here are some deets that y'all should know about:
  • Registration starts at 3 PM
  • You may have any number of books signed as long as they were bought either National Book Store, Power Books or Bestsellers. NBS has the right to lessen the number of books to be signed depending on the influx of atendees.
  • You may buy her books before or during the event.
  • Pictures with Tahereh Mafi may be taken but only one per group/person.
  • Shatter Me (paperback) and Unravel Me (paperback) are both available fore Php 329.00. Unravel Me (hardcover) will be available at the event for Php 599.00.
Well that's all you need to know folks! :) We hope to see you Filipino Shatter Me fans at the event! And thank you so much to National Book Store for making this all happen. We're all eternally grateful! See you all there!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

In Which Louisse Becomes Famous: A Recap

Back in November 2012, my mom received a super cool e-mail from Fully Booked (a local bookstore here in the Philippines) and she called me during my debate training to tell me about it. A lot of screaming and maybe even some jumping ensued during this phone conversation. There was a lot of this:
This:
This:
And maybe even a little bit of this:

Yup. And my debate teammates being insanely reasonable people who cannot handle crying or emotions in general (I'm kidding) said something a little bit like this:
And this:

So yeah, it was a pretty eventful afternoon in the debate room. And when I got home after that, my mom and I discussed said e-mail and we talked about a lot of books (Fifty Shades of Grey may have been mentioned during this chat.) We were asked to pick our Top 3 books (Three books! It was like Mission Impossible for us to pick our Top 3.) for an interview with the people from Fully Booked. It was insanely shocking (and flattering) to be invited to be a part of such a project.

So the day came for our interview and what I had were three books, a dress and lots and lots of nerves. To say I was nervous I would have been the biggest understatement of the century. Okay, I was excited too but mostly nervous. I was afraid that I'd mess up but the lovely people from Fully Booked (Hi Miss Victoria and co!) were so nice and welcoming that I couldn't help but feel comforted when it began. Here's a stolen shot my mom took during the photoshoot:
Thanks, Mom!
So yeah, it turned out pretty well after I got over my initial shyness and nervousness. After it happened, I just felt relieved that I survived. Haha! But it was definitely a great experience and I absolutely felt honored being a part of such a project. In the end, all there was left was to wait.

After some time, I got another e-mail from the lovely Miss Victoria (not much screaming happened since my mom was in Hong Kong when we were contacted again) with some details about the final product so we were was pretty excited to see it in real life. My mom and I's solution to this? We stalked the Greenhills branch of Fully Booked every other day to see if they'd put it up. And when we finally saw the poster, my mom and I almost took it. Haha... Kidding! Or maybe not. The poster itself is very pretty. I love the simplicity of it and everyone looks so happy! Here it is:
(Source: Taken from the Fully Booked website. Thanks!)
There she is! Hee! I think it turned out really great and it really shows a sense of diversity because of the fact that there are so many genres being presented in the picture. (And if you're wondering, I'm the one at the bottom holding up a copy of Pushing the Limits by Katy McGarry. Just saying. Haha!) And here's the interview we did with Fully Booked about characters:

(Source: From the Fully Booked YouTube channel.)

It's really cool hearing about how others relate with characters even in such fantastical stories. It's amazing when you hear a reader tell you that they found a connection with a character in a book, even if it's the villain of the book or the weirdest of characters. There's a sense of belongingness you won't find anywhere else but within those pages. I feel so deep right now. And did you hear me gush about Unspoken and Kami? Yes, the Kami who is my girl crush. (Check out my review of it HERE. Read Unspoken! Eeeee.) The other ladies in the video were so lovely too. I loved hearing about their experiences with their books and their connection with the characters in them.

Well that concludes my post. If you want to watch more videos of the people in the What's Your Story project click HERE. I would like to send the biggest THANK YOU to the lovely people at Fully Booked who made this all happen and who are generally just wonderful people. Big hugs! Oh and thank you so much to the lovely authors who wrote those books because I wouldn't have been able to fall in love with them if you hadn't written them. Big kisses!
This is probably the corniest gif I have ever used in my whole gif-using life.

Winner!!


Thank you all so much for entering our giveaway! :D We got around 3,000+ entries which is a lot. Hee! Anyhoo, here's the winner:

Emman D.!!
Congratulations!!


We have already sent the winner an e-mail, if we do not hear from him after 48 hours, we will pick a new won. Thanks!

And for those who didn't win, worry not! We will be having another giveaway very, very soon. ;) Stay tuned!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday (28)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! :)

Q: Write a letter to your favorite character. Rant, rave or gush…just pretend like they are real and you just want to let them know a "few things". - Activity courtesy of author, Kelly Walker


A: 

A love letter to Kenji from the Shatter Me series. Enjoy.

Dear Kenji,


You are the best. Ever. It's okay if Juliette doesn't have feelings for you, because I do. Really intense feelings. I love it that you're so patient when Juliette was such a complaining hussy. I love that you're so confident and charming and loyal an kind. I hope that I get to meet you in person someday. I imagine you to be sexy, fun and sexy. I love your wit, your personality. Basically everything about you makes me melt to a puddle of goo. Love you so much, Kenjo boo boo. I would stalk you every day of my life. I'd think of you every waking (and possibly sleeping) moment of my life. I'd never forget you. I'd be your creepy stalker until you cave in and go crazy. And when that happens, I'll take care of you and you'll learn to love me. Until then, my Koshimoto dream.

Kisses,
Geraldine


Leave us a comment with your FF post and we'll check it out! :D
We follow back.



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Dark Promise by Julia Crane and Talia Jager

Click the banner for the tour schedule

Title: Dark Promise (Between Worlds #1)
Authors: Julia Crane and Talia Jager
Pages: 176 pages
Format acquired: ePub
Publisher: Valknut Press, LLC
Published on: July 28th 2012
Source: Received from AToMR Book Blog Tours (Thanks!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Rylie has it all - great friends, dream boy, loving family. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her perfect little world shatters. A stranger claiming to be her real mother appears with a secret: Rylie is a faery whose powers will be unleashed on her birthday. Captured and forced into a new life, Rylie struggles to keep everything she loves and discovers a terrifying truth: some promises cannot be broken.
(Summary taken from Goodreads)



Review:

Dark Promise held a lot of potential, it could've been an amazing novel but it turned out just good instead. It wasn't that the writing wasn't very good, because it was good. And it also wasn't because the idea wasn't very creative, because it was creative. What I found lacking was the way the story evolved. I felt that the story moved a bit too fast for my liking, in more ways than one. The way the protagonist told her story seemed a bit rushed and the way the scenes progressed were also kind of fast, as well. When you read a book like this, you want things to be savored so that you can feel its maximum effect. Though there were honestly parts that I just felt were put there to make the book longer than it was. There were details that weren't needed and that's the problem, the important details weren't really kept while the minor details were the ones added in.

Rylie was a pretty okay protagonist for me. She's like every other normal teenager but with a slightly better life. Unlike more protags you'll read about, Rylie is actually pretty confident about herself. Which I found was a pretty good thing since most girls are insecure about their looks, it's good to see heroines that know who they are and are confident with how they look. I honestly felt bad for Rylie when her biological mother just barged into her life without warning and blurts out "HEY. You're a faerie and people are going to come after you once you turn sixteen. Did you notice the wings yet?" I think it's understandable if a person does get a little kooky after hearing that your entire life has been a lie. I actually thought that she handled it pretty well. I think that the only time I had a problem with her was during the second half of the book, when she was taken by the Dark Fey. Rylie was pretty sad and quite frankly, a little pathetic when she was kidnapped. She didn't really do anything drastic, she only allowed them to take her away and lock her up in a room. I expected to do something spectacular since she's this powerful faerie but I guess nothing's really going to happen yet since she's still new to the whole fey business.

There was a lot of pushing and pulling that happened during the parts where Rylie was taken and I felt that most of the important bits of the book happened there. To cut to the important part, Rylie is basically forced to marry to Dark Fey "prince", Kallan. (Ladies, he's very good looking.) This became an issue because Rylie's still hung up on her human boyfriend, Adam, even though she's insanely attracted to the other guy. Just to clarify, Rylie is a Light Fey so her and Kallan's union is going to be pretty iffy. This is the part where Rylie turns into the emotional-angsty-teenaged girl who just can't pick who she wants to be with. I pretty much made up my mind on who I wanted to be with as soon as Kallan came in and trust me, I didn't pick the human. The two guys were swoon-worthy in their own ways, but Kallan still took the cake for me.

This being a book about good vs. evil, I felt that it needed a little more action. Like maybe some sword-fighting or fey-slaying because I realized that the fey are actually pretty normal people. They play sports and do normal human stuff (except maybe touch iron...) There needed to be a more clear distinction between what a human is and what a faerie is. Maybe add a twist the faerie mythology? I really like that each faerie had their own gifts in the book and how they differed from fey to fey. Rylie has a really cool gift. Hehe

Dark Promise really was a promising book and I actually really did enjoy it. I just feel like it could've been executed better and the detailing could have been written more explicitly. I'm honestly really curious as to what happens next, so I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book because the ending was just *headdesk* in a good way. Next book, please!

Rating:
.5

5 eBook copies, 3 signed paperback copies, and a $20 Amazon Gift Card (INT)