Blog Tour with Review: Jet by Jay Crownover @JayCrownover @TLCBookTours

Jet by Jay Crownover

Series: Marked Men #2

Publication date: May 28th, 2013

Pages: 416

Synopsis:

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl's rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn't want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet's dark, haunted eyes. She's afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can't resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he's tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love... or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

Don't miss the latest bad boy in Jay Crownover's unforgettable New Adult series.

Available at:

Review:

I received a physical copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for participation in a blog tour as well as an honest review.

The second part to my TLC Book Tours review set in the form of the sequel to Rule. I wasn't sure how the series was going to be laid out. Are we going to see mention of the previous characters or are the other characters going to mysteriously disappear like in some series? Is there going to be any reference to the interactions between Jet and Ayden in the first book or are they just going to be forgotten and glossed over? Am I going to love Jet and Ayden like I did Rule and Shaw? I was anxious to dive into Jet and find answers to some of these questions and get a feel for Jay Crownover as a new author.

Jet can't believe he lives across the hall from the Southern Belle goddess he longs for. Ever since she propositioned him and he grit his teeth and turned her down, they have had a tentative friendship. They are sociable and friendly but there is always that air of tension and heat surrounding them. Jet attempts to forget about his desires for Ayden by delving into as many members of the female populace as possible. It is a good distraction but it doesn't make him forget the long-legged beauty within touching distance. All he can do is vent his rage and frustration through casual sex and his love of music. Jet has demons and he can't allow the purity that is Ayden anywhere near that... or him.

Ayden is far from perfect. Her past haunts her and she is constantly mindful of herself. She cannot let the old, rambunctious Ayden out or she could risk losing everything she has ever worked for. She knows getting into any sort of relationship, whether it be sexual or emotional, with Jet would be a mistake. He is the type of guy that makes the old Ayden sit up and drool and the new Ayden's heart race.

Ayden and Jet's romance starts as their mounting attraction explodes and causes them to finally face facts. They are going to have to try being together in any way possible otherwise they may go out of their minds with longing. However, as Ayden and Jet are heating up, ghosts from Ayden's past start to reappear. She must decide whether to hold tight to Jet or let him go for his own good.

I definitely like this cover better than the first one. They made the character look exactly how I pictured Jet. They even got the gold ring around his eyes right. Perfect!

I cannot get enough of these books. The romance between the seeming bad boys and the good girls is the stuff of fantasies. I can't believe how easily I can picture all the hunky men in the Marked Men series. I found Jet and Ayden to be almost more of an awesome pair than Rule and Shaw. I did not, however, understand Ayden's need to hide her past. Ayden's past was no worse than most of the other character's. I mean, Jet's family was probably the worst of all in my opinion.

I love how Jay Crownover makes her characters complete polar opposites of each other in appearance or personality but then joins them together in much of their torment or desires (not just the physical kind but of course that is there too). Seeing Shaw and Ayden on the street (or in my mind as it is), I would probably not see them getting with heavily tattooed men such as Rule and Jet, but Jay pulls it all together and makes both couples absolutely dynamic. It's a skill not many writers are able to harness, so definite props to the author.

Jet is a sequel of epic proportions. It shows that love is love and there is no obstacles too great to overcome if the heart is at the forefront of the matter.

Rest of the Tour:

November 19th: Schmexy Girl Book Blog

November 20th: The Bookmark Blog

November 26th: Brooklyn Berry Designs

November 27th: Acting Balanced

November 28th: Nightly Reading

December 2nd: From the TBR Pile

December 4th: Sara's Organized Chaos

December 10th: Into the Hall of Books

Jay Crownover is the bestselling author of Rule and Jet. Like the characters in her Marked Men series, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories that have interesting characters and make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

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Review: Autumn by Sierra Dean @NetGalley @sierradean

Autumn by Sierra Dean

Series: Dog Days #1

Publication date: June 12th, 2013

Pages: 263

Synopsis:

Cooper Reynolds's life is going to the dogs... literally.

As if being a high school senior in a small Texas town wasn't hard enough, Cooper has bigger things to worry about than who he'll take to prom and whether or not the Poisonfoot Padres will win homecoming. He has less than a year before his eighteenth birthday, when a curse placed on his family will doom him to live in coyote form forever.

The last thing he needs to complicate his already messed-up life is a girl, but fate has other plans in mind for him when it brings Eloise "Lou" Whittaker to Poisonfoot. She's grouchy, sarcastic and has no love for her new Texas home, but she might be exactly the right person to help Cooper break the curse.

The clock is ticking, and Cooper will have to decide if he's willing to let Lou in on his dirty little secret before it's too late.

Available at:

Review:

I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Strictly based on cover appeal and my lack of knowledge where the author was concerned was a bit of a worry of mine. I really expected this to be another low rated book because there hadn't been much buzz that I had seen around my fellow book bloggers. Regardless, I went into the book with an open mind. The synopsis was interesting since normally the young adult paranormal reads are centered around werewolves not coyote shifters. But the story was so much more than just about coyote shifters as I had first thought.

Eloise ("just call me Lou, please") didn't want to move away from all she had ever known in California. Add to that the fact that she is still grieving the loss of her father who had just recently died of cancer and you get one incredibly unhappy teenager. With the shear volume of medical bills, her mother sold most of their worldly possessions, packed a U-Haul, and dragged Lou, kicking and screaming, to Poisonfoot, the hometown of her deceased father. It is there where Lou starts to wonder if there is more to this town then she had first thought. It would seem that everyone feels it is there duty to warn her off of a certain boy whose family is the town outcasts. Lou, not to be deterred by simple hatred via word of mouth, she sets out to get to know the strange boy, and from the moment she laid eyes on him, she couldn't imagine staying away.

Cooper was used to being hated by everyone in his school, and even his town. He didn't know if it was his secret they all knew or if it was simply an ingrained instinct. All he knew was it sucked royally. He played football because the games were the only time anyone would acknowledge him, let alone cheer him on. Football is important to Texas inhabitants and it is the only time Cooper feels normal. When he is on the field he doesn't have to think about his brother's absence, the taunts from fellow students, or the fact that townsfolk would sooner cross the street than venture near him. He knows he only has a few short months until he is eighteen and then he won't have to worry about these people anymore. The curse almost seems a blessing in those terms. Until he meets Lou. Then the curse truly is a curse being as it means he'd have to leave her, just like his brother left him.

As the couple grows closer its only a matter of time before they both will have to face a town with secrets and Cooper's own personal family secret if they have any hope of remaining together.

I liked the overall format of the book. From one scenario to the next it flowed effortlessly. There was no point where I felt the story rushed or was drawn out. It was believable and that is hard to do as an author writing someone like paranormal or science fiction. I could see the blossoming romance happen exactly as described and I could even imagine that, with the way the curse tied into the history of Lou and Cooper's families, it actually could be plausible. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't particularly believe in curses, magic, or the like, but with the way Dean wrote Autumn I started to question whether it could be a possibility. It's a mark of a good author.

One of the only problems I had with the story was the fact that in the story's timeline, Lou had just lost her father a month ago. She states she was very close to him and yet, she hasn't mourned him at all in the story. She is all giddy of her new romantic interest and trying to find out Poisonfoot and Cooper's secrets, but shouldn't there be some time in between all that where she remembers her father has just passed? In the story, her father is referenced numerous times and whereas I would have crumbled into tears at the mention of my recently deceased loved one, Lou simply takes it in stride. I would think that mentality would be reserved for having lost her father several months ago and not just one. That was my own draw back.

Autumn is a new type of paranormal literature in which coyotes and magic are at the forefront. A welcome break from the werewolves and vampires that seem to be the height of popularity at this time.

Review: Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Series: The Soul Eaters #1

Publication date: November 5th, 2013

Pages: 327

Synopsis:

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She's special. It's not her fault she enjoys it. She can't help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it's not like there are any other "soul-eaters" around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They're like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda's kind. This is her chance! Play along with the "good guys" and she'll finally figure out what, exactly, her 'kind' is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny... she may finally give into it.

Available at:

Review:

I received a physical copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I am all for debut authors and when I got the e-mail from the publishers with the opportunity to read Eliza Crewe's new book, I jumped at the chance. I hadn't heard of any book that featured the power to eat souls until this little gem. I was intrigued. Not to mention the absolutely gorgeous cover. As I have been in sort of a romance novel bubble recently I wanted to get into something that didn't have a whole lot of that aspect. This one book was just the ticket.

Meda struggles with her moral compass her entire life. She is forced to eat souls to stay alive, but her choice in victims is all her own. Meda took from her mother's teachings that if she had to eat, might as well eat the souls of bad people instead of good. So that is exactly what Meda does. While tracking down the murderer of a ghost she has come in contact with, she comes face-to-face with something she never imagined possible. Men who were the same as her. Soul-eaters. And they called themselves demons.

With the assistance of a heroic crusader, Chi, Meda starts to piece together her existence as a half demon. Chi, of course, is not privy to Meda's family heritage and thinks her to be a supremely good person that the demons want to kill because she has a path in life to do good. How far from the truth could the boy be? Meda seizes the opportunity and convinces Chi and his friends Uri and Jo to take her back to their crusader homestead. Her idea is to gather intelligence on her enemies and escape before anyone is the wiser. Little does she know that her story is deeper than that and just because she is part demon does not mean she is heartless.

I enjoyed Cracked. It was an interesting world and an even more enthralling character base. We have all seen the battle between good and evil in numerous books, some of those are even between humans and demons such as in this one. What we don't normally see is what would come of the pinnacle of evil producing a child with a soldier of good. Where would the child's loyalties lie? In evil or good? If raised good will the child become good or is their nature too ingrained in them to even bother? I have always loved the nature vs. nurture theories and this book took it to a whole new level.

Cracked is a page turning read of good versus evil where good AND the bad are both in the shape of a clueless half-demon.

Review: Sia by Josh Grayson

Sia by Josh Grayson

Publication date: November 20th, 2013

Pages: 308

Synopsis:

When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she's reunited with her family. At school, she's powerful and popular. At home, she's wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse yet, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the "geek" she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she'll become the bully she was before... and if she'll lose Kyle.

Available at:

Review:

I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the idea of a popular rich girl who pretty much owns the world developing amnesia and having to relearn how to treat people. I have been trying new genres and books that are generally a little different than the ones I normally read lately and this was one of those that I added to my list. It has no sort of paranormal feel to it which is something I am trying to pull myself out of. I am stuck in a paranormal rut and needed a break. Enter, Sia.

The story opens on a girl named Sia, or so her iPod tells her, who awakes in the park with no memory of who she is, how she got there, or where she should go next. She ventures out into the world completely blind to the dangers surrounding her. As she is asleep beneath a bridge, she meets a kindly older lady named Carol. Carol immediately sees how desperate Sia is to survive and takes pity on her. She shows Sia how to be homeless and how to avoid certain death from the elements, hunger, or even other people (homeless and otherwise). Sia starts to enjoy her freedom, but when a car hits her and she is taken to the hospital she finds her parents and her original life may have been reason enough for her memories to take a vacation.

Her parents are on the verge of a divorce, their finances are in trouble, and Sia is slowly realizing that she took her troubles at home out on many innocent students at her school. She takes her week long experience on the street and her friendship with Carol and starts to better herself. She gets involved in helping others, bettering herself, being compassionate to people around her, and even repairing her family's relationships and finances. But this is the new Sia? What happens when the old Sia, the cruel, snobby, socialite returns?

I did not hate this book. Wait, let me try that again. I semi-liked this book. Yes, that sounds a bit better. There were elements in the book that just did not seem plausible. If her home life was easy to repair then why could she not do it before? Things got resolved, actions were forgiven, and acceptance was given a little too easily for my liking. I would have like a little more resistance or a few more obsticles for Sia to overcome. Granted, losing her memory and having to relearn her life is a major obstacle, but, bettering herself shouldn't have been simply just come down to the decision of "I am not going to be mean anymore". Lots of people attempt to make that decision in their lives but there are always moments of backsliding. There are always times when positive thought is not the end-all and be-all of a situation. That is where this book lacked. The romance in the book seemed... unremarkable. It didn't resonate with me and I didn't feel anything for the couple. I think the story would have been better without it to be honest. That is hard for me to say because I love me some romance!

Sia is a psychological intrigue of how a girl overcomes the loss of her memory and creates a whole new better life for herself in its wake. Sia makes memories almost insignificant and determination the only thing that matters in how one lives their lives to the best they can.