Book Blitz with Giveaway - Forbidden Knight by Diana Cosby

Title: Forbidden Knight
Author: Diana Cosby

Genre: Historical Romance
Publication Date: June 6th, 2017

Deep within Scotland, a healer and a warrior join forces to protect Scotland’s future . . .

There is an intruder in the woods near King Robert Bruce’s camp, but when Sir Thomas MacKelloch comes face-to-face with the interloper, he is shocked to discover his assailant is a woman. The fair lady is skilled with a bow and arrow and defiant in her responses. The wary Knight Templar dare not allow her beauty to lower his guard. Irritated by his attraction, he hauls her before his sovereign to expose her nefarious intent.

Outraged Sir Thomas dismissed her claim, Mistress Alesone MacNiven awaits the shock on the arrogant knight’s face when he learns that she has told the truth. But it is she who is shocked, and then horrified, as it is revealed that her father, the king’s mortal enemy, has betrothed her to a powerful noble, a deal that could jeopardize the king’s efforts to unite Scotland. Robert Bruce orders Sir Thomas to escort Alesone to safety. As they embark on a harrowing journey through the Highlands, Alesone tries to ignore her attraction to the intimidating warrior, but as she burns beneath Thomas’s kiss she realizes this fearless knight could steal her heart.

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A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series are translated in five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. With the release of her first two books in her new Scottish medieval The Oath Trilogy, An Oath Taken and An Oath Broken, both which hit bestseller lists in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as the release of the e Box Set of the MacGruder Brothers series, she is now preparing for the release of the last book in The Oath trilogy, An Oath Sworn on 23 December, 2015!

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

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Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

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Book Traveling Thursdays - It's Take a Walk in the Park Day

#Book Traveling Thursdays is a weekly meme created by Cátia (The Girl Who Read Too Much) and Danielle (Danielle's Book Blog) and hosted on this Goodreads group.

Come join us!


This week's theme is: 

It's Take a Walk in the Park Day
"Choose a book that relaxes you"


My choice for the week is

My Lady Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

This is a tough topic because I don't normally read relaxing books, but I'm choosing one that made me laugh a lot. Laughing is relaxing, right?

So, what do you think about these covers? Have you read this book? Share you opinion bellow.

Release & Review - Blood Rose Rebellion (Blood Rose Rebellion #1) by Rosalyn Eves

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Blood Rose Rebellion
(Blood Rose Rebellion #1)

Author: Rosalyn Eves

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

Age Category/ Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers 

The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever. 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

2.5 “Cool Magical System” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Knopf Books for Young Readers!

This seems to be the week I got my hands on my most anticipated books of the first half of 2017. I just finished Caraval and have The Hate U Give and Frost Blood waiting on my Kindle. Like those books, Blood Rose Rebellion has been featured in more than one of my books-to-read-in-2017 lists. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it half as much as I thought I would.

To be completely honest, I didn’t expect to this ARC at all, but well… I did, and it only made the opportunity to read this even more thrilling. The premise and the setting were intriguing and I was ready to love this.

Blood Rose Rebellion just didn’t do it for me.

Let me start this by highlighting what made this story unique, and what makes me believe other people will have a completely different (and more positive) experience with this.

This is a story set in 19th century Europe (the beginning in England, but most of it in Hungary) and it has a cool mix of historical and fantasy. The main character, Anna, lives in a society with a super cool magical system that will sound a little familiar to fans of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, but manages to be more unique.

The Luminate society controls all magic and only allows those from their bloodline to cast spells. They spread the lie that only the Luminate have the ability to cast spells, but that’s something they created with the help of a binding ritual that puts them in control of magic. Those who know about the lie and think everyone should be allowed to access it are obviously unhappy with the situation and looking to start a revolution.

The author does a good job mixing these magical elements with the history of that time, and we get a lot of references to important historical figures and events taking place around that time. For me, that made the world she created even more unique.

Another positive is that we get to see more than just England. Though the story starts there, Anna is soon sent away to Hungary with her grandmother, allowing us a glimpse at another culture. I say we need more fantasy set/inspired in different countries and cultures, so I’m giving this author extra points for trying. I say trying because I’m not sure she represented Hungary the best way she could. In fact, judging from this review from a Hungarian reader, it could’ve gone a lot better.

As far as writing goes, I thought this author showed a lot of potential. The writing was good, the language, although a little stiff, was easy to read and the descriptions were vivid enough to paint a beautiful picture of the setting.

I also appreciated how she took the time to explain the main elements involving the world she created, and especially the magical system, in the beginning. Some might find it a little info-dumpy, but I prefer that over scratching my head through tons of pages until I can finally figure out how things are supposed to work in that world. The author created a complicated system, so it was only fair for her to explain it when she did.

So, those were all positive elements I saw in the story. Things that I’m sure will make other readers have a better experience with this, especially if we’re talking about readers who enjoy world building above all.

That’s not my case, though. Even in fantasy, I always tend to gravitate towards characters and their journeys. Characters are what make and break stories for me, and the main character in this book didn’t hook me at all.

Anna made it really hard for me to connect with her from the beginning. She often came across as judgmental and spoiled, and it took her too long to grow. Her actions while she was still back home in England didn’t put her in a good light. What she did the night of her sister’s debut didn’t come across as accidental as it needed to in order to make her look anything other than jealous. She knew the risks and she ignored her sister and her mother’s pleas. She didn’t feel real remorse for the trouble she created, but instead chose to shift the blame. The fact that her mother and her sister were mean to her didn’t excuse her behavior, in my opinion.

Anna’s reaction to meeting people in Hungary for the first time wasn’t the nicest, either. She was nasty to her cousin when she arrived at the house, calling her “dusty, disheveled creature” (I mean, really? Really?), then she make assumptions about the Romani people she met before she even spoke to them. Not even her Romani love interest seemed good enough when she met him.

Speaking of which, the romance didn’t hold my attention, either. Throughout the book there were four (more?) love interests and none of them made me feel much. Sure if I had to pick I’d go with Gábor, but he wasn’t all that developed, either.

With no connection to the main character and the love interested, the story quickly lost its appeal. It also didn’t help that the plot moved so slow. I mean, really, really slow.

So, despite the interesting world and magical system created, the unique setting and the good mix of historical and fantasy, Blood Rose Rebellion couldn’t hold my interest. Had it given me a likable main character or a strong romance to root for, the reading experience could’ve gone a completely different way.

 

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Review - These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1) by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: These Vicious Masks
(These Vicious Masks #1)

Author: Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

Category/Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy
Publication Date: February 9th, 2016
Publisher: Swoon Reads

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared. 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

3.5 “X-Men in Victorian Era” Stars

After waiting forever to read this, I got an ARC for the second book, so I ended up reading These Vicious Masks and These Ruthless Deeds in a matter of days.  Reading them that way helped a lot because the story was still fresh in my head, and I was still connected with the characters and the beautiful world these two authors created.

Yeah, Tarum Shanker and Kelly Zekas did a wonderful job with world building. I could see the dark streets, the beautiful dresses, the people acting shock at the smallest of “improper” behaviors, and, obviously, the display of power.

As a huge fan of everything X-Men, I’d been dying to read this series for over a year. Humans with powers to heal, destroy, control the weather, move objects, walk through walls, regenerate? COUNT ME IN. Every single time! So I can easily say I loved every part of that. I was eager to get to know new characters because I wanted to see what they could do and how they’d contribute to the already great group of characters. Even powers I didn’t think would be that cool to have turned out to be extremely important to the story. Well done, guys. Well done.

But, for me (as always), this first book was about the three main characters and their journey.

The MC is Evelyn, a uber sarcastic girl who’s bored with society and all the rules her mother tries to make her follow. She can’t wait to get out there and discover what the world has to offer, but since this is 1882, a girl getting out there is simply not done. Besides irritating her mother, Evelyn’s favorite pastime is working with his sister as a nurse. Her mother obviously disapproves, which I bet makes her even more excited about the whole thing. Evelyn’s sister, Rose, seems to be the one doing all the healing, but Evelyn is always there helping her. They have a strong bond and a loving relationship that I wish I saw more in YA.

Then Rose goes missing and that’s when the action kicks in. Evelyn goes to London to try and find her with the help of two guys: Mr. Kent (my favorite character in this whole series) and Mr. Braddock (a brooding, Mr. Darcy-like character).

Look, I liked Mr. Braddock enough in this first book. I was even intrigued by him and swooned a little every time he interacted with Evelyn. The whole drama involving their powers and how they weren't "compatible", plus how they started out as enemies had its appeal. But then Mr. Kent would come in and that feeling would fade because, DUDE, I liked Mr. Kent way too much to share my love with anyone else.

Mr. Kent was hilarious and sarcastic and the chemistry between him and Evelyn was just too great to ignore. I absolutely loved their banters.

“My, my, it’s a surprise to see Mr. Braddock here,” Mr. Kent said, a hint of acrimony lacing his voice. “Yes, it is.” He leaned in confidentially. “Perhaps he’s come to apologize. Or maybe that also needs to be done in his bedroom.”
I strained to keep a whisper. “You know very well why I was in his bedroom! He was injured, and I needed to check on him.” 
“No one is going to make an exception for that where your reputation is concerned.” 
“I had other concerns at the time.” 
He put his hand on his chest. “I’m feeling quite injured myself. Perhaps we might—” 
“Mr. Kent! This is not an appropriate place for that kind of talk!” 
“Very well,” he said. “If you wish to speak about it somewhere much more inappropriate, just say the word.

But I don’t want to mislead you into thinking this book was heavy on romance. It wasn’t. The love triangle was there and there was kissing, but the focus here was Evelyn’s search for her sister.

Evelyn’s love for Rose was the real driving force here. She risked so much in order to find her sister, making it impossible not to root for her. I liked Evelyn a lot. I enjoyed her passionate she was, but how realistic she tried to be despite having to deal with superpowers and all the crazy stuff that came her way. It also helped that she was just as sarcastic as Mr. Kent.

Mr. Kent also brought something else I loved to the story: his sister and his butler. Laura was hilarious and Tuffins warmed my heart. Then we got two gifts in the end with Laura's diary and Tuffin's notes. Don't skip the end, guys. You'll regret it. 

There were some twists and turns, especially toward the end, and I can definitely say I didn’t see that ending coming. It was tragic and it broke my heart. It also did its job, because it left me wanting more.

Overall, this was a great introduction to this new world these authors created. It didn't take my breath away, as I thought it would, but Mr. Kent made it all worth it for me.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release & Review - These Ruthless Deeds (These Vicious Masks #2) by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: These Ruthless Deeds
(These Vicious Masks #2)

Author: Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

Category/Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy
Publication Date: March 14th, 2017
Publisher: Swoon Reads

England, 1883. Still recovering from a devastating loss, Evelyn is determined to use her powers to save other gifted people from those who would harm them. But when her rescue of a young telekinetic girl goes terribly wrong, Evelyn finds herself indebted to a secret society devoted to recruiting and protecting people like Evelyn and her friends.

As she follows the Society’s orders, healing the sick and embarking on perilous recruitment missions, Evelyn sees her problems disappear. Her reputation is repaired, her friends are provided for, and her parents are newly wealthy. She reunites with the dashing Mr. Kent and recovers the reclusive Mr. Braddock (who has much less to brood over now that the Society can help him to control his dangerous power). But Evelyn can’t help fearing the Society is more sinister than it appears... 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

3.5 “I’ll take a Mr. Kent, please” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Swoon Reads.

After enjoying These Vicious Masks, I jumped right into These Ruthless Deeds to follow Evelyn, Mr. Kent and Mr. Braddock to their next adventure. At first, I had to keep myself entertained with only Evelyn—not that this was a problem because Evelyn is strong and funny enough to keep the story interesting—but as soon as Mr. Kent came back into scene I remembered why I liked this story so much.

Sure, the whole X-Men abilities in Victorian era is what makes the story unique, but Mr. Kent was what made it truly engaging and interesting to me.

The story starts with Evelyn mourning the loss of her sister. I was right with her, since I couldn’t believe after everything she had gone through Rose was dead! I wanted to keep my review of book 1 spoiler free, so I didn’t rant about this, but here I can: Dude, that was totally heartbreaking and unfair. Rose and Evelyn deserved better. Even Mr. Braddock deserved better. Poor guy had to live with knowing he had killed Rose! No wonder he went M.I.A.  

To try to keep herself from falling apart, Evelyn focuses on finding people with powers and helping them. That’s how she finds the Society—the same one who funded the crazy doctor that abducted Rose and caused all the chaos in book 1. She’s reluctant to join them at first, but once Mr. Kent (WELCOME BACK, BABY!) and the rest of her friends decide they want in, Evelyn finally relents. They also make tons of promises that they’re only looking to help people like her.

This was totally me:

I didn’t believe that for a second, and I was kind of surprised Mr. Kent and Evelyn fell for it. Sure they were reluctant, but they actually joined in. I thought their reaction would be a bit different given everything that had happened in book 1, but I was willing to go with it. Especially because it meant Evelyn and Mr. Kent would be spending more time together. With Mr. Braddock temporarily out of the way, I was hoping Evelyn would finally realize she had feelings for her friend.

It didn’t exactly go as I planned in the romance department, but it went as predicted in the “the Society will screw you” one. After going into some missions with the excuse of helping others, Evelyn discovers the Society was more into imprisoning people with powers than anything else. Once they challenged them, people Mr. Kent and Evelyn loved the most got hurt. So it was time they started another mess to try to get out from the one they were already living in. Meaning: it was time for action.

Things moved fast in this book. Maybe faster than the last time, but there was still time to introduce new characters. We got to see a little bit me of the guy we met in the epilogue who could cross walls, then we met a girl who could explode things just by staring at it (0ne of my favorite new characters) and a girl who could control the weather (another kickass female character I want to see more of). We’re also finally introduced to Catherine, Evelyn’s best friend. Although she has no super powers, she’s smart and loving and interesting. Yay for girl power here!

Now, about the boys… I’m officially, irrevocably on Team Mr. Kent. For some reason, Mr. Braddock has lost its appeal completely. I can’t ship him with Evelyn anymore. Maybe that’s because while we got to spend more and more time with Mr. Kent, we spent less and less with Mr. Braddock and I’m at a point where I can’t even understand why Evelyn thinks she likes him.

**SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT**

I can’t even tell you how upset I am that this is looking more and more like a Mr. Braddock/Evelyn endgame. Mr. Kent pretty much gave up on her by the end of this book because she decided she’s in love with the other guy, and he doesn’t want to get in the way of that. His speech was beautiful because, yes, he deserves someone who wants to love him, but it broke my heart. Evelyn, WTF are you doing? You need to reevaluate your choices, girl. There’s no way Mr. Braddock is the best choice for her. This might be my bias talking, but he’s not half as interesting as Mr. Kent. His interactions with her aren’t half as interesting as the ones Evelyn has with Mr. Kent. I’m so frustrated!!!! I hate when my ship isn't canon!!

**END OF SPOILER **** END OF SPOILER **** END OF SPOILER**

No matter who Evelyn chooses, I can’t see myself moving teams. Not when Mr. Kent continues to use his powers in the cleverest ways. Not while he keeps making me laugh.

"Now sir, I don't want to force you. Only if you wouldn't mind sharing--what are your cards?""A king and a five," the man said, red-faced and very frustrated with his slip."How generous of you to say. I will take another card, please," Mr. Kent said to the croupier.He smiled upon receiving his third card and when all the cards were overturned, he was declared the winner again. His winnings doubled.

It’ll always be Mr. Kent for me.

Enough about Mr. Kent... For now.

Something else I liked about this book was how it continued the theme from the last one: the importance of family and how loving someone can lead to so much happiness, but also a lot of destruction if you’re not careful.

These Ruthless Deeds moved a lot faster than the first book, but it was always moving by the same thing: Evelyn’s love for her dead sister. She got involved in this superpower stuff because of Rose and she continued down that path also because of Rose. She was often thinking about what Rose would want her to do if she was alive. And towards the end, Evelyn’s love created a lot of chaos. I mean, when I say a lot, I mean A LOT.

That ending?? I’m not even sure what to think about it yet. On one hand, I understand why she chose what she did and find it hard to judge her. On the other hand, I’m judging the heck out of her.

  

Even though I suspect there was some powerful influence there clouding her decision-making abilities. I guess we’ll see if I’m right or not. I’m afraid the authors will have to work hard here to make me like Evelyn the way I did before.

Overall, this was a good sequel and it ended with a bomb that will leave readers anxious for the next book. There will be a next book, right? Because I can’t go too long without my Mr. Kent fix. Gimme more, please!

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.