Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deity

November 5, 2012 by Cait 8 Comments

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: Nov 6, 2012
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Young Adult
Source: Purchased

“History is on repeat, and things didn’t go so well the last time. ”

Alexandria isn’t sure she’s going to make it to her eighteenth birthday–to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner… and so is Aiden.

If that’s not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time “training”–which really is just Seth’s code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time–she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she’s caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed… and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate…

I’m a regular reader of JLA’s blog, and when she slyly mentioned that Amazon had released Deity early, I hurried over there and two clicks later I had a brand spankin’ new copy downloaded on my Kindle. Don’t you just love the digital age? Thank goodness I didn’t have to go anywhere on Friday, and in between moments of playing with the munchkin, I read as much as I could. Deity was AWESOME.

I am continually impressed with JLA’s ability to progress a series. A lot of authors fall into the “filler novel” trap, where one or two books seem to serve no purpose other than to make the series longer than it should be. I have never encountered that problem with either of JLA’s YA series. Each book has a purpose, a focus, and Deity is no exception. Although, I can’t believe where JLA took her characters in this book. Talk about shock and awe!

I just want to state for the record, that I was freakin’ RIGHT about Seth. I never thought of him as a possible romantic interest for Alex. He always seem too obsessed with himself and his status as Apollyon to ever let anyone into that small circle, including Alex. I always thought that the Team Seth and Team Aiden business was complete nonsense. It always was, and always ever will be, Aiden. And let me tell you folks, Aiden really steps up his game in this book. We are finally able to see some resolution between him and Alex, and the fall is so sweet. Aiden, I salute you my friend. I’ve been wary of you up until this point, unsure if you could do right by Alex. But you’ve proven yourself, and I’m now your biggest fan.

Seth broke my heart. I guess the lure of power was too much, and Seth wasn’t strong enough to resist. I’ve always loved Seth’s character. He’s arrogant, sexy and selfish, and I could never tell if he was the hero or the villain. But he had a vulnerable and fun side that pushed through every once in awhile, and I lived for those moments. Oh Seth, please be savable. I’m not sure if I could fully enjoy the series if you don’t find your happily ever after too.

And then there’s the ending. Holy cliffhanger Batman! It’s a good thing we don’t have to wait too long for the next book, because I’m dying to know what happens next. Although I feel strongly that Alex’s world is only going to get worse before it gets better. SOB.

Deity was full of action and packed the emotional punch typical of JLA, which keeps bringing me back for more. An exciting addition to the Covenant series, and a definite must read!

My Rating: A+

Filed Under: *A Rating, Cait Recommends, Fantasy, Paranormal, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Tempting the Player

October 29, 2012 by Cait 1 Comment

J. Lynn

Publisher: Entangled (Brazen)
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2012
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Source: Purchased

Chad Gamble, all-star pitcher for the Nationals, is one of the best players on—and off—the field. And right now, the notorious bad boy wants Bridget Rodgers. But with her lush curves and snappy comebacks, the feisty redhead is the kind of woman a man wants to settle down with…and that’s the last thing Chad needs.

When the paparazzi catch them in a compromising position, Chad’s manager issues an ultimatum: clean up his act or kiss his multi-million dollar contract goodbye. To save his career, his meddling publicist says he’ll have to convince everyone Bridget isn’t just his flavor of the week, but his girlfriend.

Being blackmailed into a fake relationship with Chad Gamble isn’t easy, especially when the sizzling physical attraction between them is undeniable. With a month to go on their arranged pretense, it’s going to take every ounce of willpower they have not to fall into bed together…or in love.

Goodreads Summary

I’m BAAAACCCKKK!!! Poor Barbara has been doing the lone ranger thing while I’ve been packing and moving for the last month or so. We are SO happy to be out of Memphis and back home in the great state of Texas. There hasn’t been much time for reading lately, and with the massive to-do lists constantly running through my head, I haven’t had much brain power for reviews either. Now we’re here, we’re settled, mostly unpacked and my reading mojo has returned. Yee-haw!

It’s a well known fact that I love JLA’s work, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of Tempting the Player since I found out she was writing books for the two remaining Gamble brothers (the youngest, Chase, was the hero in Tempting the Best Man).

I loved both Chad and Bridget in this book. Chad is a professional baseball player and is a bit of a bad boy with an ego big enough to fill the stadium he plays in. If there is one thing JLA does well, it’s her bad boys. Chad’s sexiness oozes through the pages, and I couldn’t help but love him despite his faults. Bridget is quirky and off-the-wall weird (at least her clothes are anyway), but it somehow works for her. She isn’t Chad’s typical style, being tall and curvaceous instead of model thin, and she’s anxious about it at first but after realizing that Chad wants her just as she is, she gets over it real quick. I would too if I had an uber sexy baseball player looking at me with lust in his eyes. Ahem.

The chemistry was typical JLA – and therefore amazing – but I wasn’t a big fan of structure/plot of the story. They meet in a bar, then lose track of each other until a chance meeting throws them together again, and when Chad is photographed kissing Bridget in public, Chad’s publicist basically blackmails Bridget into being his fake girlfriend. The pretend dating scenario not my favorite trope, and I wish there would have been a lot more tension in the beginning. It all seemed too easy. Also, JLA tends to use a lot of common slang in her writing, and normally it’s hilarious. The slang was a little over-the-top in this book, and it felt like she was trying too hard to bring in the humor. But that’s a super minor issue and definitely not a deal breaker.

I really enjoyed the book, it was a quick read and I’d recommend it for those of you looking for a love story with a ton of sizzle on the side. The next book in the series will feature Chandler, the oldest Gamble brother, and I believe we were introduced to the next heroine in Tempting the Player, but don’t quote me on that. If I’m right, I’ll be very interested in finding out how JLA is going to pull off making her look good. She was hideously awful in this book, and not anywhere close to being likable. *shudders*

My Rating: B+

Filed Under: *B Rating, Contemporary/Romance, Reviews Tagged With: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure (Covenant #2)

March 29, 2012 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 13 Comments

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Publisher

There is need. And then there is Fate…

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn’t exactly awesome–especially when Alexandria’s “other half” is everywhere she goes. Seth’s in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom–so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do–and sacrifice–for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies–lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon… and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn’t blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude… or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

Goodreads Summary

Since there are over 90 blogs participating on this tour, I’ve decided to do y’all a favor and keep this review on the short side. Or try to, at any rate. I feel like I’ve been getting a bit too verbose in my posts lately, and I know y’all have other things to do then listen to me blabber on and on. We all know how much I ~~stalk~~ love anything Jennifer L. Armentrout, so anything I say in this review shouldn’t be too surprising.

The summer is over and Alex has settled back into the Covenant school routine after spending three years away. Alex is still required to continue her extra training sessions, except now Aidan and Seth are splitting teaching responsibilities. It seems that an Apollyon-in-training has more to learn than the average student, and what better person to help out with that then the Apollyon? Alex is still madly in love with Aidan – even though it’s forbidden – and he is doing his best to protect her and ignore her at the same time. It’s quite maddening, really. Seth is a continual source of annoyance to Alex, since he seems to be everywhere she is and their connection is getting stronger, which makes it more difficult to keep anything private. Alex and Aidan have a major episode (SOB!), and Alex finally comes to the realization that sometimes people don’t always get what they want.

On the non-romance side, the daimons are becoming a serious threat and have now figured out how to infiltrate the Covenants/schools and are attacking from within. This development is a major blow, and the pure’s seem to have a hard time facing reality. In my opinion, anyway. The class issues in this series are fascinating, and Pure does nothing but drive a deeper wedge between the pures and half-bloods. About halfway through the semester, Alex leaves the safety of the school to attend the council session to give her testimony about the events leading up to, and including, her mother’s death. It seems that not everyone is jazzed about the idea of having two Apollyon’s, and Alex is continually targeted and harassed throughout her stay.

Since Aidan is sort of out of the picture now, Seth really steps up to the plate and watches out for Alex. In Half-Blood I thought Seth was a real jerk, but we get to see a different side of him in this book. Now, this is 100% my opinion, but I’m not sure that what Seth feels for Alex is romantic love. It always felt a bit familial to me (yes, even after the 324th time of reading the book). I think Seth is too arrogant and pompous (in an endearing, completely lovable way of course) to really ever settle down. While I think Alex is the most important person to him, and he genuinely likes her, I never got the impression that it was because he was in love with her. It was more of a “hey, we’re the only two of our kind, so it’s me and you against the world” type of love. Granted, I haven’t read whatever scene JLA wrote from Seth’s POV in the digital copy of Pure, so I could be totally off base. Am I wrong? What do you think? If I am right, I do wonder how Alex the Apollyon could ever be with Aidan (which is what I’m rootin’ for, trust me). Alex and Seth have such a unique bond, and it seems like they come as a package. I’m so nervous about how it’s all going to work out! Seriously, I’m biting my nails over here.

My Summary: Pure was deliciously amazing in every possible way. It was leaps and bounds away from the dreaded Second Novel Syndrome, and it did a great job of keeping the passion, mystery and excitement up going into the rest of the series. JLA pulled every emotion out of me in this book. I cried, I laughed, I swooned and I desperately wished for a real life Seth to drop in my life. JLA has perfected the art of creating characters that I care about, that I need to be happy and safe. I have no predictions for where the series is going (clearly), but I’ll happily go along with wherever JLA will take me.

My Rating: A+