Teaser Tuesday: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I have been hearing really good things about Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It has finally reached the top of my review stack. Here is the description:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Teaser:

The prince's eyes shone with amusement at her brashness but lingered a bit too long on her body. Celaena could have raked her nails down his face for staring at her like that, yet the fact that he'd even bother to look when she was in such a filthy state...

State of the Stack (July 30, 2012)

This is my monthly State of the Stack post. It is my way to keep track of my review books and to hopefully reduce the stack that I have waiting for me. I take a look at my review commitments on the last Monday of each month. Please feel free to join in and let me know the state of your stack.

Here is my Review Books Spreadsheet. Yellow highlighted books are ones past their publication date that I still haven't read and reviewed. I use pink highlights for reviews due in even numbered months so that I can see at a glance how many I have for each month. Ideally, this keeps me from over-committing to review books. However, I have to say that this isn't working for me. So many books sound good and I have no willpower.


My Physical Review Pile


These are pictured in the order that I received them. Release date is in parentheses after the title and author.

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (Aug. 21)

The Man From Primrose Lane by James Renner (unsolicited; Feb. 28, 2012)

Keeping Safe the Stars by Sheila O'Connor (Oct. 11)

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin (Sept. 18)

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood (Jan. 1, 2012)

Crewel by Gennifer Albin (Oct. 16)

 Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate (Oct. 2)

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkowski (Oct. 16)

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson (Oct. 2)

 Safekeeping by Karen Hesse (Sept. 18)

Dead Girl Moon by Charlie Price (Oct. 30)

Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman (Nov. 13)

 My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt (Sept. 4)

Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak (Oct. 2)

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier (Oct. 30)

 Outpost by Ann Aguirre (Sept. 4)

Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King (Sept. 4)

Tears of the Jaguar by A. J. Hartley (Sept. 4)

Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal (July 10)

Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong (July 24)

My Kindle Review Pile


These are pictured in the order that I received them. Release date is in parentheses after the title and author.

The City's Son by Tom Pollock (Sept. 8)

The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost (Sept. 25)

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield (Sept. 11)

 The Assault by Brian Falkner (Sept. 25)

The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab (Oct. 9)

Redemption by Veronique Launier (Sept. 8)

 Thursday at Noon by William F. Brown (unsolicited; 1962)

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel (Sept. 25)

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (Dec. 18)

 The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton (Aug. 28)

Dark Star by Bethany Frenette (Oct. 23)

Beta by Rachel Cohn (Oct. 16)

manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen (4/23/2013)

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson (3/12/2013)

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Oct. 2)

League of Strays by L. B. Schulman (Oct. 1)

Foxfire by Karen Kincy (Oct. 8)

Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara (Sept. 25)

A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry (Nov. 1)

Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones (Nov. 27)

I Read This Month


I read 24 review books this past 4 weeks. These are listed in the order I read them. Links go to my reviews for all that have been posted already. Otherwise, the date the review is scheduled for is listed.) 

• The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
• Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
• Hidden (A Bone Secrets Novel) by Kendra Elliott
• Before You Go by James Preller
• Dragon Justice by Laura Anne Gilman
• Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
• The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane
• Blood and Silver by James R. Tuck
• The Last Victim by Karen Robards
• Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan (Sept. 6)
• Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller (Aug. 8)
• Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood (Aug. 2)
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Aug. 2)
• Grave of Angels by Michael Prescott (Aug. 11)
• The Magician's Apprentice by Kate Banks (Aug. 9)
• Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (Aug. 1)
• Skylark by Meagan Spooner (Aug. 4)
• Dead Ringer by Allen Wyler (Aug. 9)
• Off the Grid by P. J. Tracy (Aug. 4)
• First Do No Evil by Carey Baldwin (Aug. 16)
• Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready (Aug. 18)
• Game Changers by Mike Lupica (Aug. 13)
• Immortally Yours by Angie Fox (Aug. 25)
• Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal (Aug. 15)

I Added These Books


These are the 16 review books I received this month. They are listed in the order that I received them. This month almost all of my additions to the pile were adult books. YA titles begin with an asterisk. 

• The Last Policeman by Ben Winters (arrived 6/26; released July 10)
• Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King (arrived 6/27; releases Sept. 4)
• Hidden (A Bone Secrets Novel) by Kendra Elliott (arrived 6/27; released July 17)
• Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara (arrived 7/1; releases Sept. 25)
• Immortally Yours by Angie Fox (arrived 7/2; releases August 28)
• The Last Victim by Karen Robards (arrived 7/3; releases August 7)
• Tears of the Jaguar by A. J. Hartley (arrived 7/3; releases Sept. 24)
• Dead Ringer by Allen Wyler (arrived 7/17; released June 26)
• Off the Grid by P. J. Tracy (arrived 7/18; releases August 2)
• First Do No Evil by Carey Baldwin (arrived 7/19; released June 26)
• A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry (arrived 7/23; releases Nov. 1)
• Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready (arrived 7/23; released July 18)
• *Mothership by Martin Leicht (arrived 7/24; released July 10)
• *Game Changers by Mike Lupica (arrived 7/24; released May 8)
• Running Wild: The Men from Battle Ridge by Linda Howard and Linda Jones (arrived 7/24; releases Nov. 27)
• Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong (arrived 7/26; released July 24)

I Am Currently Reading

I am excited to get to Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong. It is the thirteenth and final book in the Women of the Otherworld series. 

I am catching up on my review stack. This is the first month I remember where I actually read more review books than I received. What is the state of your review stack?

Stacking the YA Shelves (July 29, 2012)

Tynga of Tynga's Reviews hosts this meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the wonderful books everyone gets.


First of all, while you are here why don't you enter my Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop post for a chance to win a $15 book of your choice from The Book Depository?


Now that that is done, here is what I got this week.

I bought Endlessly by Kiersten White so that I could continue reading about Evie. I loved the first two books in this series.

I downloaded these two audiobooks from SYNC this week. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson and Pinned by Alfred C. Martino. You have until this Thursday to take advantage of this free offer.

My latest Amazon Vine picks arrived this week too. I chose Game Changers by Mike Lupica which is a middle grade story about a boy who really loves football. I also chose Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal because I had been seeing it around on blogs and was curious about it.

That's it for me this week. What did you add to your stack?

ARC Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publication: Harlequin Teen (July 31, 2012)


Description: No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.


But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.


Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.


My Thoughts: Two-thirds of the way through this story, and wiping tears from my eyes, I added this book to my next high school book order. My high school students are going to fall in love with Noah and ache with Echo as both kids encounter problems that threaten to break them.


Echo and Noah get to know each other when the clinical social worker working with both of them put them together for tutoring sessions. Echo is seeing Mrs. Collins because of a traumatic incident that left her with scars, night terrors, and a hole in her memory that encompasses the night she got those scars. She is now a senior in high school but during her sophomore year her beloved older brother, a marine, was killed in Afghanistan and something happened with her mother that caused the scars and holes in her memory. Her father has divorced her bi-polar mother and married a woman who started out as Echo's nanny and now she is going to have his baby. Echo is angry at her father, at her stepmother, at her mother and is trying desperately to recover what she calls "normal." She has gone from being a member of the popular crowd to a social outcast. She is certain that no one loves her.


Noah is seeing Mrs. Collins because he is having trouble in foster care. His parents died in a house fire when Noah was in ninth grade. He managed to save his two younger brothers who were 5 and 2. He and his brothers were separated by the foster care system and Noah ended up in a series of bad homes. He is determined to gain custody of his brothers when he graduates from high school because he can't believe that they are in a good foster care situation. He believes that gaining custody of his brothers with help him regain "normal" too. 


Noah and Echo first band together to try to get a look at their files. Noah wants to know where his brothers are; Echo wants to know what happened that day she can't remember. Gradually, the two fall in love. But their different needs threaten to pull them apart.

This was an extremely emotional story the brought me to tears more than once. I felt so bad for both Echo and Noah and wanted them to find a way to be happy. I don't read very many contemporaries, I prefer my pleasure reading to be less realistic and heart-wrenching. But I know many of my students love this genre. I feel certain that this story will find many fans in my media center.


Favorite Quote:

A slight edge crept into her tone, so subtle I almost missed it. "Do I need to contact your social worker?"

I headed for the door. "Go ahead. What is she going to do? Rip my family apart: Put me in the foster care system? Continue to dig and you'll see you're too late."

"When was the last time you saw your brothers, Noah?"

My hand froze on the doorknob.

"What if I could offer you increased supervised visitation?"

I got this eARC from Harlequin Teen via NetGalley. You can buy a copy here.

Friday Memes: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week.


Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

My current book is Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. This is an eARC from Harlequin Teen that I got from NetGalley. I had seen good reviews and, though I seldom read YA contemporaries, I thought I would give this one a try. Here is the description:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Beginning:

"My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead, and my mother has...well...issues. How do you think I'm doing?"
That's how I would have loved to respond to Mrs. Collins' question, but my father placed too much importance on appearance for me to answer honestly.

Friday 56:

The warm fuzzy feeling that helped take the edge off also slowed the thought process. I ran through what she said twice. "That doesn't make any sense."

So far, even though I feel incredibly sorry for both of the main characters of this one, I am enjoying the story. It will be released on July 31.

Book Review: Storm (Elemental) by Brigid Kemmerer

Storm (Elemental)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publication: Kensington; Original edition (April 24, 2012)


Description: Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water - just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. 

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

When Hunter, the mysterious new kid in town, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all...



My Thoughts: Kemmerer has created an interesting world with people who can control the elements and the rivalries among them. Becca gets involved in it when she rescues Chris Merrick from some attackers when she is going home from her first self-defense class. Becca has just started her junior year with a bad reputation. Her ex-boyfriend is spreading lies and rumors about her. Since he is a star on the soccer team, Becca doesn't have support for her side of the story except for her best friend Quinn who has major issues of her own. 


Becca is an angry person. Not only is she rightfully angry and Drew and the other guys who are slandering her, she is angry at her father for abandoning her when she was eleven. She lives with her mother who is a nurse in the Emergency Room and works lots of nights. Her father has had the habit of phoning every six months but Becca is responsive to his feeble at communication.


By rescuing Chris, Becca gets involved in a world she didn't know existed. Chris is his three older brothers are Elementals. Chris has an affinity for water, Nick for air, Gabriel for fire, and Michael for earth. They have such strong affinities that the other Elementals in town want them dead. Pure Elementals like Chris and his brothers are supposed to be killed by the Guides. Before they died, Chris's parents made a deal with the other Elementals in town to not turn in the boys. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that the Elemental contemporaries of the boys can't harass them though to try to force them to use their gifts in such a way that the Guides will be called in.

Chris and Becca are forming a tentative friendship when a new guy comes to town. Hunter has lost his father and uncle in an accident and his living with his mother at his grandparents. This guy has lots of secrets but he also befriends Becca.

The plot is complex; the action is non-stop; and there are lots of surprises in this one. Readers who want to read about high school life, romance triangles and a unique paranormal setting will enjoy this one.


Favorite Quote:

Hunter dropped into the dead center of the sofa. He watched the movie for five seconds, then glanced at her. "Are you actually watching this?"

"I'm actually looking in that direction." She tossed the remote at him. "Watching might be a little strong."

I bought this one because I had heard good things about it. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Throne of Glass Novellas by Sarah J. Maas

Having already read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (my review will be posted on Aug. 2), I decided to take some time to read the novellas that were released as ebooks earlier this year to build up excitement about this debut release. I'm really glad that I could read them all together. The suspense of waiting the months between each would have been unbearable. 

The Assassin and the Pirate King (Jan. 13, 2012)

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes - and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.

My Thoughts: Celaena Sardothien has been sent by the Assassin's Guild to collect a debt owed by the Pirate Lord. She is accompanied by her friendly rival Sam Cortland. Both have been with the Assassin's Guild since they were young children. Celaena is cocky, arrogant, a girly-girl who likes fancy clothes and manicures. She is also the best assassin in Erilea and only sixteen years old. When she and Sam arrive to collect their debt they find that they have been mislead. Instead of coin, they find that the leader of the Assassin's Guild is going into the slave trade. She and Sam are expected to bring about 100 slaves back home to me be sold. Celaena may be a killer but she can't stand slavery and determines to outwit the Pirate Lord and set the slaves free. The plan involves getting all the pirates drunk, starting fights, disabling the catapults aimed at the harbor, and lowering the chain that keeps the ships in. Two assassins against an island full of pirates. No problem...as long as one of them is Celaena Sardothien.

The Assassin and the Desert (March 30, 2012)

The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren't much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn't have it any other way. She's not there to chatter, she's there to hone her craft as the world's most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she'll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

My Thoughts: This episode takes place a couple of months after Celaena's adventures with the Pirate Lord. She needs to be trained by the Master and get a letter of recommendation from him before returning home. When she arrives, she is befriended by a young woman named Ansel who has been with the Silent Assassins since she was thirteen. Ansel becomes the first friend she has ever made. The local lord - Berick - wants to curry favor with the king of Adarlan by destroying the Silent Assassins and sending him the Mute Master's head. The assassin's have been able to fend off the previous attacks but are always waiting for the next one. Ansel is sent to Lord Berick as an intermediary and brings Celaena along but doesn't let her attend the meeting. Ansel shares a secret about her past when they are on the way back home. Later the two girls fight and Celaena is drugged and sent away. This story has friendship, betrayal, and courage and some tough decisions for Celaena to make.

The Assassin and the Underworld (May 1, 2012)

When the King of the Assassins gives Celaena Sardothien a special assignment that will help fight slavery in the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to strike a blow against an evil practice. The misson is a dark and deadly affair which takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewer--and she doesn't like what she finds there.

My Thoughts: Celaena is back from the Red Desert with enough gold to pay off Arobynn Hamel but he has apologized and is showering her with gifts. He also has a job for her that fits with her desire to fight slavery. She also sees Sam again but is torn about how she feels about him. He has spent the summer escorting her rival budding courtesan Lysandra. They do finally talk to each other and resolve their differences. But Celaena faces the ultimate betrayal in this story.


The Assassin and the Empire (July 20, 2012)

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. But Celaena won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel - so she and Sam decide to take one last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. And that’s how Celaena learns that having everything... means everything can be taken away.

My Thoughts: This story was so painful to read. Celaena gets a bit of happiness and then has it ripped away from her in the worst sort of betrayal. She and Sam are together and think they are free from Arobynn Hamel's control. But he isn't ready to let go of something he thinks he owns. Since I have already read Throne of Glass, I knew what had to happen in this story. Nonetheless, I kept hoping I was wrong.


These novellas are a wonderful introduction for Throne of Glass which will be released on August 7 as they give readers a wonderful glimpse into the rich and nuanced world and characters that Sarah J. Maas has created. And, if like me you have already read Throne of Glass, you still want to read these novellas to fill in the backstory and to see more of the fascinating world that Maas developed.

Teaser Tuesday: Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I pulled one off my TBR mountain for this week's teaser. I have been curious about Storm by Brigid Kemmerer and thought I would give it a try. Here is the description:

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water - just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. 

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca. 

When Hunter, the mysterious new kid in town, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all...

Teaser:

New Kid lifted his head, a slow, deliberate movement. Becca watched him size up Chris--but his eyes widened fractionally when they got to Chris's face. The bruising along his cheekbone and jaw had lightened, turning a mottled yellowish blue. His lip was healing, but you could still see the split.

Summer Throwdown - Round 2

Librarians and Teachers, are you reading this summer?

Come join me. I am participating in the second round of the Summer Throwdown - Teachers vs. Librarians organized by these fine bloggers - Sherry at Library Fanatic, Jillian at Heise Reads & Recommends, Kathy at The Brain Lair, and Brian at Wyz Reads. A lot of this is happening on Twitter too. Follow Sherry (@LibraryFanatic), Kathy (@thebrainlair). Jillian (@heisereads) and Brian (@brianwyzlic) to be part of the fun.

Check out this post by Kathy at The Brain Lair to find out all about the fun, sign up for round 2, and grab a button to show your support.

During round 1, I read 30 books according to their count and 33 by my count. Short books counted for less than 1 point under their system. I read 10, 444 total pages from June 18 through July 17. I hope to do as well during the second round of the throwdown.

Go #LeagueofLibrarians!

Stacking the YA Shelves (July 22, 2012)

Tynga of Tynga's Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. She explains at her site and posts a Linky each week. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the wonderful books everyone gets. You will also discover lots of great blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

This was a slow week for me. I didn't actually get anything in my physical mailbox. I got one ebook and the free SYNC audiobook.

The Assassin and the Empire by Sarah J. Maas is the final of four prequel novellas to Throne of Glass which will be published on August 7. Each novella provides background information for Throne of Glass by introducing the characters and world. This one was especially heart-breaking because I have already read Throne of Glass. Read them before Throne of Glass or after, but read them. They are well-written and very engaging.

Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter was the SYNC audiobook this week. It is a historical fiction story about the daughter of the more famous Cleopatra and Marc Antony. Here is the description:

Princess of Egypt... Cleopatra Selene is the only daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome. She’s grown up with jewels on her arms, servants at her feet, and all the pleasures of a palace at her command, and she wants only to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a great and powerful queen. Prisoner of Rome.... Then the Roman ruler Octavianus, who has always wanted Egypt’s wealth, launches a war that destroys all Selene has ever known. Taken to live in Octavianus’ palace in Rome, she vows to defeat him and reclaim her kingdom at all costs. Yet even as she gathers support for her return, Selene finds herself torn between two young men and two different paths to power. Will love distract her from her goal - or help her achieve her true destiny? Epic in scope and ravishing in detail, this audio book reveals the extraordinary life of a girl long hidden in history: the remarkable Cleopatra Selene.

That was it for me this week. Maybe I can pull a couple of books off my massive TBR mountain to read this week. What did you get?

Book Review: Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Taken by Storm
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publication: EgmontUSA (May 22, 2012)


Description: In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack. She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.  

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate. A rogue werewolf is attacking humans. The risk of exposure threatens to destroy pack life, and the center of the crisis is Cedar Ridge territory—her own lands.

Bryn has no choice but to attend the meeting, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent.  The subject is the rogue wolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has. Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid. But it doesn’t prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants. To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.



My Thoughts: Human, though raised by werewolves, Bryn is the alpha of her own Cedar Ridge pack. For reasons detailed in the first two books of this series (Raised by Wolves and Trial by Fire) Bryn's pack is unusual because it contains eight females. Female werewolves are an incredibly small minority of all werewolves. The facts that Bryn is female and human and has so many females in her pack make her a target  of werewolf politics.


Bryn's major rival is Shay, the alpha of the Snake Bend pack. He has been plotting and scheming to take over her pack and her females for three books now. It doesn't help that Bryn's second-in-command and best friend is Shay's brother. 


This time his scheme include finding a way to claim Maddy who was a former pack member of Bryn's and who now might be Rabid and killing humans in the no-man's-land that borders each werewolf territory. Bryn and some companions have to find Maddy, stop the killing of humans, and find a way to outwit Shay by using werewolf laws against him.


This was an exciting story with lots of adventure and danger. Bryn has so many decisions to make in order to be the alpha of her pack and each decision comes at great cost. Sometimes, often in fact, she doesn't have any good choices and has to pick the least bad of her options. 


I recommend this to readers who love werewolf stories but also recommend reading the first two books in the series before this one. I don't think that this one would stand alone well. 


Favorite Quote:

He wasn’t pushing, wasn't asking me to change, but I knew he wanted me to have choices that I would never have. I couldn’t blame him for that - not when he was willing to give up his choices for me.

But it would have been nice, really nice, if being together hadn’t required that kind of sacrifice. If neither of us had known, in skin and bones and blood-deep certainty, that I would always come first for Chase, and the pack would come first for me.

I bought this one. You can buy a copy here too.

Friday Memes: Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week.

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

I got a chance to grab something off my TBR mountain instead of my review stack this week. I chose Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This is the third book in the Raised by Wolves series following Raised by Wolves and Trial by Fire. Here is the description:

In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack. She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate. A rogue werewolf is attacking humans. The risk of exposure threatens to destroy pack life, and the center of the crisis is Cedar Ridge territory—her own lands.

Bryn has no choice but to attend the meeting, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent.  The subject is the rogue wolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has. Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid. But it doesn’t prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants. To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.

Beginning:

I ran as though my life depended upon it.

Friday 56:

If these men wanted to be condescending, I couldn't stop them, but if they were looking for a response, they weren't going to get one.