Review: Blaze of Memory - Nalini Singh

Dev Santos discovered Katya unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All Katya can tell him is that she's dangerous. Charged with protecting his people's most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate any and all threats against them. It's a task he's never hesitated to complete . . . until now, when he finds himself drawn to a woman who could prove to be the enemy's most insidious weapon yet.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her very sanity. Dev is her only hope. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For, in this game, someone is going to die . . .

Psy-Changeling Series:
(Season One in the Psy-Changeling World)
Beat of Temptation (Novella included in Wild Invitation and the An Enchanted Season anthology)
Whisper of Sin (Novella included in the Burning Up anthology or as a separate ebook)
Slave to Sensation
Visions of Heat
Echo of Silence (Novella included in the Wild Embrace anthology)
Caressed by Ice
Stroke of Enticement (Novella included in Wild Invitation and The Magical Christmas Cat anthology)
Mine to Possess
Hostage to Pleasure
Dorian (Novella included in the Wild Embrace anthology)
Branded by Fire
Blaze of Memory
Bonds of Justice
Play of Passion
Declaration of Courtship (Novella included in Wild Invitation)
Kiss of Snow
Texture of Intimacy (Novella included in Wild Invitation)
Tangle of Need
Partners in Persuasion (Novella included in the Wild Embrace anthology)
Heart of Obsidian
Flirtation of Fate (Novella included in the Wild Embrace anthology)
Secrets at Midnight (Novella included in the Night Shift Anthology)
Shield of Winter
Shards of Hope
Allegiance of Honour

Psy-Changeling Trinity Series:
(Season two in the Psy-Changeling World)
Silver Silence
Ocean Light
Wolf Rain

Visit Nalini Singh's website for more information

Review:
This series just gets better and better with every single book and I'm at the point now where I'd find it impossible to pick a favourite couple! I don't know how Nalini Singh does it but she consistently writes books that suck me in from the first page and that I can't put down for anything. Blaze of Memory is a little different to the earlier books because we have two Psy main characters. To be honest I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it as much because of that since the Psy characters can often take longer to warm up to than the Changelings & humans but as usual Nalini proved me wrong and had me hooked very early on.

This story gives us a lot more information on the history of the Psy and how Silence came into existence. Dev is the leader of the Forgotten Psy, decendents of the Psy who refused to accept Silence as an option and who left the Psynet determined to find another way. The Psy have hunted the Forgotten ever since and it is Dev's job to keep his people safe. He is ruthless when it comes to their protection and prepared to do whatever it takes but the more he blurs the lines the harder and colder he becomes.

When Katya is left on his doorstep beaten and bruised with no memory of how she got there or even where she came from Dev is immediately suspicious. He suspects that she has been sent as a spy for the Psy council and he is sure that she can't be trusted but no matter how often he reminds himself of that fact he can't seem to resist her. Katya has been through hell and only just survived to tell the tale, as her memories start to return she only becomes even more convinced that she is a danger not just to Dev but also to all of the Forgotten and she hates the thought that someone could be controlling her without her realising it. Katya is an incredibly strong woman, she had to be to survive her ordeal and we really get to see that strength as her memories come back and she starts to realise exactly what was done to her. She isn't the kind of woman who will give up and she becomes determined to turn on the person who programmed her - even if it costs her her life.

I don't want to say too much more about the plot but I found this was an incredibly fast paced story and I completely fell in love with both Dev and Katya. They go through so much and there were times when my heart broke for them - at one point I was having trouble reading because of the tears that were rolling down my face! This book is darker than some of the earlier stories and I definitely found it more emotional, everything feels so desperate and it really does feel like there is no chance of a happy ending. I'm not going to tell you how things end so I'll just say that there are some really interesting developments to the world as a whole and with some of the characters we've already met in the previous books. This series is definitely a favourite and I'll buy ANYTHING that Nalini Singh ever writes!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Book Blogger UKYA Awards - the Winners Are IN!

Hello All!
Today I am here to announce the winners of the Book Blogger UKYA Awards!
Before I do so, however, I just want to send out a quick thank you to every single person who nominated and voted.
I also want to take another minute to thank all of the wonderful bloggers who helped out.
Faye @ A Daydreamer’s Thoughts
Jim @ Ya Yeah Yeah
Caroline @ Big Book Little Book
Daphne @ Winged Reviews
Lucy @ Queen of Contemporary
Debbie @ Snuggling on the Sofa
Luna @ Luna's Little Library
Sarah @ Feeling Fictional
Cicely @ Cicely Loves Books
Charli @ To Another World
Fi @ Bookish Outsider
Raimy @ Readaraptor
Michelle @ Much Loved Books
Shaila @ Hush Hush Revealings
Andrew @ The Pewter Wolf
Sam @ The Little Munchkin Reader
Julianne @ This Fleeting Dream
Laura @ Bookish Treasures
Samina @ Escapism From Reality
Catriona @ Fabulous Book Fiend

But now onto what you're all really here for...

The Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

So many fantastic and well deserved winners there! Along with a lot of new to me books that I obviously need to add to my to read pile :o) Congratulations again to everyone and thanks to Faye for all your hard work organising the awards!

Review: Darkness Rising - Keri Arthur

Risa will go to any lengths to avenge her mother's murder - even if it means making a pact with the most evil vampire she's ever met. Lethal and powerful, Madeline Hunter is leader of the vampire council and will put her resources behind finding the killer - for a price. The venerable vampire requires the assistance of Risa's psychic powers. Quid pro quo.

Someone - or something - is targeting the elders of the local council, cursing the immortal vampires to rapidly age, sink into madness and die. Risa must track down the vengeful being responsible. But Risa's father a rogue Aedh priest, also enlists her in a dangerous mission. And not even the great Madeline Hunter may be able to protect her from the shadowy forces that desire nothing less than Risa's destruction.

Dark Angel Series:
(This is a spin off from the Riley Jenson Guardian series)
Darkness Unbound
Darkness Rising
Darkness Devours
Darkness Hunts
Darkness Unmasked
Darkness Splintered
Darkness Falls

Riley Jenson Guardian Series:
Full Moon Rising
Kissing Sin
Tempting Evil
Dangerous Games
Embraced by Darkness
The Darkest Kiss
Deadly Desire
Bound to Shadows
Moon Sworn

Visit Keri Arthur's website for more information

Review:
As a huge fan of the Riley Jenson series I was excited that Keri Arthur decided to continue writing about this world from Risa's point of view. For fans like me it is fantastic to get glimpses of some of our favourite original characters but at the same time I think the author has done a great job of getting us invested in the lives of Risa and her friends. After the utterly heartbreaking events at the end of Darkness Unbound I knew Risa was going to be in for a tough time of it in Darkness Rising and I wasn't wrong, everything is against her in this book and she's forced to make some very difficult decisions.

Risa is still grieving for her mother but more than anything she is determined to find out who was behind her murder so that she can make them pay. She is desperate for revenge and will do whatever it takes, even if that means working for Madeline Hunter, head of the vampire council, to achieve her goals. The last thing Risa really needs is to be caught in Madeline's spotlight and forced to investigate the deaths of some very old and powerful vampires but she doesn't have a choice if she wants access to information that only Madeline can provide. As if her two different investigations weren't enough to worry about her father, the Adeh who has been absent for her entire life, makes a sudden reappearance and he has an important task for her. Failure isn't an option unless Risa wants her friends to pay the price.

I'm really enjoying getting to know Risa, she isn't as strong as Riley was but she's still quite kickass in her own way and she definitely refuses to back down from a challenge. I love the supportive friendships she has with her room-mates Tao and Illiana and the way all three of them have each other's backs no matter what. I'm not a fan of the newly introduced character Lucien but I absolutely adore Azriel. We get to see a more human side to him in this instalment and I think he's really starting to care for Risa, I definitely want to see more of the two of them as the series continues because I'm loving the hints we're getting of the chemistry between them. I have a feeling if they ever give into that desire things are going to be explosive.

This series has a good amount of action making it real page turner that I didn't want to put down. I love the humour throughout the story too along with the camaraderie between Risa's group of allies. I have a feeling things are going to get even more complicated thanks to Madeline's interest in Risa, I wouldn't trust that woman as far as I could throw her and we've seen from her interactions with Riley that she always has an ulterior motive. I just hope Risa hasn't got herself in over her head and I guess I'll have to read Darkness Devours ASAP to find out.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle

Review: Sabriel - Garth Nix

Who will guard the living when the dead arise?

Sabriel is sent as a child across the Wall to the safety of a school in Ancelstierre. Away from magic; away from the Dead. After receiving a cryptic message from her father, 18-year-old Sabriel leaves her ordinary school and returns across the Wall into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands – for her father is none other than The Abhorson. His task is to lay the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him – and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties – to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible challenges whilst discovering her own supernatural abilities – and her destiny.

The Old Kingdom Series:
Sabriel
Lirael
Abhorsen
Across the Wall (Novella)
Clariel

Visit Garth Nix's website for more information

Review:
I'm showing my age a bit here but I first read Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series years ago when it was first released and it's one I've revisited multiple times over the years. It's an outstanding fantasy series, one that is truly unique and that just gets better and better with each visit. I find it incredibly easy to fall into this world and once you're there you'll never want to leave.

The main character is a young girl called Sabriel, she was born in the Old Kingdom, a land full of magic and strange creatures, but her father, the Abhorsen, sent her across the Wall to live in Ancelstierre to attend boarding school. Anclestierre is a land without magic and Abhorsen felt that Sabriel would be safer there. Sabriel may live away from her father but he visits her regularly and has taught her about charter magic and some of the ways of the necromancers. When her father goes missing Sabriel knows she is the only one who can help him so she sets out to travel into the Old Kingdom to find and rescue him. In an unfamiliar world Sabriel must use her wits to survive and she can only hope that the allies she has made are really on her side.

Garth Nix has created a rich world that he brings vividly to live with his beautiful, descriptive writing. The realm of the dead is haunting and incredibly creepy and I loved the imagery of the river and the gates that spirits pass through after death. Creatures often try to travel back up the river, through the veil and into life again but it is the Abhorsen's job to make sure they don't manage to escape. Since her father is missing that role now falls to Sabriel and she must use the Abhorsen's bells and sword to fight the spirits that try to escape.

Sabriel is a wonderful heroine, she is smart, brave and cares passionately about people. She is willing to put her own life at risk to save not just the people she cares about but also strangers and it is easy to admire her bravery. She isn't perfect and does make mistakes but that just makes her even more likeable and easy to root for. One of my favourite fictional characters ever is Mogget, the cat who has served her family for centuries. Mogget has a very sarcastic sense of humour and he often has me laughing at the things he comes out with. As irritating as Mogget can be to Sabriel most of the time he is an important ally for her but there is a darker and more terrifying side to him that Sabriel quickly discovers. The other main character is a young man called Touchstone, his background remains a mystery for quite some time but he is easy to like once you start uncovering some of his secrets. I enjoyed the hint of romance between Touchstone and Sabriel, it doesn't overtake the rest of the story but adds a nice extra dimension between them. There aren't many central characters in this book but they are all incredibly three dimensional and you'll feel like they're part of your family by the end of the story.

I don't want to say too much more about the plot but I will say that anyone who hasn't discovered this series yet is missing out. I was a little nervous when I started this reread because I have such fond memories of this series - I was really worried that it wouldn't be able to stand the test of time and that perhaps it wouldn't reach the standards of some of the more recent YA fantasy series that I've read in the last couple of years. I'm so happy that my fears were proved wrong - this book more than stands it's ground and I can say without reservation that it remains my favourite in this genre. I can't wait to carry on my series reread and to finally get hold of the new book Clairel that we have waited such a long time for!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Rock Courtship - Nalini Singh

What happens when the Gentleman of Rock decides to play dirty?

A drummer for the hottest rock band on the planet, David has a single, powerful weakness: Thea, the band’s publicist and the woman who steals his breath away with her every move.

Only problem is, Thea doesn’t date clients—or musicians. Emotionally scarred by a cheating ex, she’s not about to risk her heart with a man who has groupies buzzing around him like flies. Even if his sexy smile ties her up in knots.

What she doesn’t know is that David is a one-woman man...and he’s madly in love with her. David’s determined to prove he’s worth the risk, and willing to court her, step by exquisite step. Thea’s about to discover just how long and hard this handsome drummer can play.

Rock Kiss Series:
Rock Addiction
Rock Courtship (Novella)
Rock Hard (Crossover with the Hard Play series)
Rock Redemption
Rock Wedding

Hard Play Series:
(Spin off from the Rock Kiss series featuring the Bishop brothers)
Cherish Hard
Rock Hard (Crossover with the Rock Kiss series)
Rebel Hard
Love Hard

Visit Nalini Singh's website for more information

Review:
Rock Courtship is the second story in Nalini Singh's Rock Kiss series and features Schoolboy Choir's drummer David and their publicist Thea. If you've read Rock Addiction then you'll be familiar with both of these characters and you'll have already seen how head over heels David is for Thea. I had high hopes for this story because I was already a big fan of David and I'm happy to say he didn't disappoint me.

David is such a sweet guy, he hasn't let the band's success go to his head and is a genuinely nice person to spend time with. He's earned the reputation as the Gentleman of Rock in the press and he lives up to it in every way. David has been crazy about Thea ever since he first met her but the time was never right for him to make a move, first she was in a relationship, then she was recovering from a broken heart and now she is very clear about her rule of never mixing business with pleasure and since she's the band's publicist she wouldn't dream of dating David. But David has waited long enough, he knows she is the one for him and no other woman will do, all he has to do is convince Thea to give him a shot.

Taking the advice of Thea's sister Molly David sends Thea a memo explicitly outlining his case for them starting a relationship. Thea feels obliged to respond in kind and soon they are sending each other the most wonderful flirty emails as David slowly starts to win Thea around. These two really are perfect for each other and I loved seeing them grow closer as Thea starts to let down her barriers. She has good reasons for finding it hard to trust but David has been a friend for a long time and deep down she knows he would never betray her like her ex did. The two of them have fabulous chemistry (I think David may possibly be even hotter than Fox!) but more than that they also have respect for each other and a solid, caring foundation to their relationship.

I think my only complaint about Rock Courtship was that I wanted it to be longer, I could have happily devoured a full length novel about these two rather than a novella! That isn't to say the story isn't satisfying, I just loved them so much that I wanted to spend more time with them. David writes the most wonderful emails - who knew that memos could be sexy? - and I wanted to see more of them. This is definitely turning into one of my favourite NA series, super hot rock stars, strong independent heroines and fantastic hot sex - what's not to love?

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Cover Reveal: Welcome to Serpent's Kiss - Sherri Hayes

I'm a huge fan of Sherri Hayes's Finding Anna series so of course I can't wait to start her new Serpent's Kiss series and am excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for the prequel novella: Welcome to Serpent's Kiss.

Title: Serpent’s Kiss

Genre: Erotic Romance

Author: Sherri Hayes

Expected publication: December 4, 2014

Synopsis:

After losing her husband unexpectedly, Katrina Mayer decided to open Serpent’s Kiss. She wanted it to be a place where she and her fellow kinksters could play and socialize.

Five years after the doors opened, the club is everything she’d hoped it would be. On Friday and Saturday nights, Serpent’s Kiss is filled with men and women who share a similar desire to explore the pleasures BDSM has to offer. The club has continued to grow, and over the years, many of its members have become friends.

The one thing Katrina didn’t expect when she’d decided to open a club was the human drama that came with it. Learning to balance her life as the club mistress has taken some getting used to, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

Add it to GR - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23232400-welcome-to-serpent-s-kiss

About the author:

Sherri spent most of her childhood detesting English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects because she never seemed to fit into the standard mold. She wasn’t good at spelling, or following grammar rules, and outlines made her head spin. For that reason, Sherri never imagined becoming an author.

At the age of thirty, all of that changed. After getting frustrated with the direction a television show was taking two of its characters, Sherri decided to try her hand at writing an alternate ending, and give the characters their happily ever after. By the time the story finished, it was one of the top ten read stories on the site, and her readers were encouraging her to write more.

Six years later, Sherri is the author of six full-length novels, and one short story. Writing has become a creative outlet for Sherri that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. She is most well known for her Finding Anna series about a young woman rescued from being a sex slave by a wealthy Dominant. The third book in that series, Truth, released July 25, 2013.

Connect with the author:

Website: http://www.sherrihayesauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherri-Hayes/122511444477280?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sherri_Hayes
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4496779.Sherri_Hayes

2014 British Books Challenge: Link your October Reviews

September Winners:

The September prize was sponsored by Curious Fox and they are sending FIVE lucky winners a copy of The Baking Life of Amelie Day by Vanessa Curtis. I'm happy to announce that the lucky winners are:

Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies
(for her review of Say Her Name by James Dawson)

and

Chrissi from Chrissi Reads
(for her review of The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery)
and

Beth from Bibliobeth
(for her review of The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle)
and

Rachel from Rachel Verna's Weirdness
(for her review of Glimpse by Kendra Leighton)
and

Sarah from Goodreads
(for her review of Blood Entwines by Caroline Healy)

Congratulations to you all! You have 1 week to email me with your address or new winners will be chosen. By sending me your contact information you are agreeing that I can pass it on to my contact at Curious Fox so that they can send out your prizes.

October Prize Pack:

A couple of months ago I got the chance to meet one of my favourite British authors Sarah Alderson to celebrate the release of her NA novel Come Back to Me which she has written under the pen name Mila Gray. The lovely people from Macmillan very kindly let me sneak an extra copy of the book so I could give it away to one of the participants of the British Books Challenge and Sarah / Mila even signed it for you!

One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month's review link up post. The winners will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning but it doesn't matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you'll still be entered for each review you do write. Since I'll be sending the prize to this month's winner this giveaway is open internationally, I will use the cheapest form of postage possible to send it though so it may take a while for the book to reach you if you if the winner is international.

Important Information:

1. Please make sure you sign up for the challenge before you start linking your reviews, I will delete links from people who aren't registered. You can sign up HERE if you haven't already.
2. When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog (invalid links will be deleted)
3. Books must have been read in 2014 to count towards the challenge so those books you read in December but reviewed in January don't count!
4. Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors - they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don't fit into one of those categories then they don't count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won't get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I'm afraid authors from Southern Ireland don't count.
5. If you need ideas for books by British Authors check out the FAQ page for lots of suggestions. You don't have to choose books from these lists though - they are just to give you ideas if you need help!

Link Your Reviews:

Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won't count and will be deleted from the list.