Review: Scent of Magic by Maria V Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic (healer #2)
Author: Maria V Snyder
Published: 1 January 2013
Source: HarlequinTEEN Australia
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.


Purchase:  Book Depository 

Review: 

I love Maria V Snyder's books  so was extremely excited to be offered this book to read and review. I hadn't read book #1, Touch of Power so I read the two of them back to back. I am happy to say I wasn't disappointed.  Yet again, Maria V Snyder has created another interesting series that I cannot get enough of.

I loved the direction this book went in after the ending of the first book and that we saw the story from both Avry and Kerrick's point of views. As always, the peripheral characters are just as interesting as the main characters and just as 3 dimensional.

This series is not set in the world of Ms Snyder's previous books but instead she has created a whole new world that is rebuilding after a terrible plague.  This second book continued the story created in book one, expanding on the story, the world and the characters and kept me completely in the story from beginning to end. And the ending... Once again book 3 cannot come fast enough.

I love stories with magic, strong characters, an interesting world and a captivating storyline and this book has all this. Another great series from Ms Snyder and I cannot wait to see what book #3 brings.

I give this book 4 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx

In My Mailbox #48

Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

So got right back in to my reading this week, getting through a couple of books this week.  Not as much blogging as I would have liked.  Unfortunately my computer is in the hottest room of the house and with the extra hot weather this week, I didn't spend too much time there.  Hoping to get a pile of posts: reviews/memes and blasts finished and scheduled over the next couple of days.  Great week in books though.

To Review:

So So excited for this one.  It is on my top 10 books I am looking forward to in 2013, so when my Netgalley request was approved yesterday, I started jumping round the house for joy and promptly started downloading then reading it!

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

Pre-Order: Book Depository

Library: 

Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires #1) by Chloe Neill

I enjoyed Chloe Neill's Dark Elite series and have good things about the Chicagoland Vampires series so reserved the first three at my local library. This is the first one.



Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker-and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude- and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood.

Purchase: Book Depository

Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast

I have a feeling i have read this before but i saw it at the library and the blurb didn't sound all that familiar so borrowed it anyway.



Torn between the possibilities . . .
Fleeing her centaur clan's increasingly militant beliefs, Brighid Dhianna has begun to find peace and acceptance among the humans of Clan MacCallan. Still, she agrees to leave her newly formed friendships to guide her clan chieftain's grieving brother home.

As she journeys, Brighid discovers that the long-dormant Shaman blood that runs so thickly in her veins will no longer be silenced. As seductive new powers begin to beckon, Brighid glimpses a future that is more impossible -- and more magical -- than any she could have dared to imagine.

But when tragedy summons her back to the Centaur Plains, Brighid must make a decision that will affect not only her friendship with the humans, but the centaur herd and indeed the world. For the Great Goddess Epona has set her on a new path that demands everything she has to give.

When the whole world is turning to her for help, healing the heart of a warrior doesn't sound so daunting . . .


Purchase: Book Depository

The Secret Circle #1 (The Initiation & The Captive Part 1) by L. J. Smith

I saw the pilot of the tv series made from this book series and didn't mind it so thought I would give it a go.



THE CIRCLE'S POWER HAS LURED HER HOME...

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witched that's controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she's drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that's both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants - even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her.

Purchase: Book Depository

The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George

This is a little different from my usual fare but it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a go.



The first young adult book by a #1 New York Times bestselling author

Whidbey Island may be only a ferry ride from Seattle, but it's a world apart. When Becca King arrives there, she doesn't suspect the island will become her home for the next four years. Put at risk by her ability to hear "whispers"--the thoughts of others--Becca is on the run from her stepfather, whose criminal activities she has discovered. Stranded and alone, Becca is soon befriended by Derric, a Ugandon orphan adopted by a local family; Seth, a kindhearted musician and high school dropout; Debbie, a recovering alcoholic who takes her in; and Diana, with whom Becca shares a mysterious psychic connection.

This compelling coming-of-age story, the first of an ongoing sequence of books set on Whidbey Island, has elements of mystery, the paranormal, and romance. Elizabeth George, bestselling author of the Inspector Lynley crime novels, brings her elegant style, intricate plotting, incisive characterization, and top-notch storytelling to her first book for teens.

Purchase: Book Depository

Above by Leah Bobet

I have been hearing good things above this book so finally need to get around to seeing for myself


Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee’s wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe’s history and the shadows’ attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

Purchase: Book Depository

So what was in your mailbox this week?

Cryptid Tales Triple Cover Reveal

So today I am excited to be involved with the Cryptid Tales Triple Cover reveal.  To celebrate the upcoming release of Book #3, Settle, the previous two books have been rereleased with a brand new cover and better yet, book #1, Reveal is free for today only ay Amazon, Barnes & Noble or ibooks.

Read on to check out the new covers and find out the Author, Brina Courtney:

Reveal (Cryptid Tales #1) eBook Version Free on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!!!!!!

Shay could be the key to ending a war that humans don't know exist. Of a race of beings that aren't real,
or are they?

Shay Tafford's childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to the dead. She
is forced to hide her unique ability from those living around her. That's why it's been comforting to have
Jeremy, a child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he's been absent, perhaps lost as her father is.
When Shay meets Hugh, the guy she's had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too
she's just starting to find a normalcy in her life.

But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases
all chances she had at a normal existence. Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of
her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save the
entire race of cryptids. But can she?

 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Capture (Cryptid Tales #2) eBook only $2.99!

One this is for sure, Shay is in for the fight of her life.

Shay is finally learning who she is, and who it is she will become. But for now escaping the clutches of
the evil Malsumis will have to be enough. Or is it?

In Capture Shay embraces other cryptids in order to defeat their common enemy.

She is willing to die trying to save her father and the love of her life, Hugh.

But can Hugh, her cryptid mate, protect her from the evil Malsumis? Or will she fall victim to his horrible
plans?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Settle (Cryptid Tales #3) Release Date Late January/Early February

Betrayal leaves nasty scars. A soul departs. Love must conquer all, or be lost forever.

Shay's life has once again fallen into mystery as she discovers her father's whereabouts. On a mission
to locate him and bring him home she learns more about who to trust than she thought possible. Her
group of cryptids will be forced to rise again and defeat their common enemy, but they will also discover
another hidden threat. As thier queen, Shay's discoveries in Settle, the final installment of the Cryptid
Tales series, will shake the cryptid world forever.

About The Author

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's
spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small
town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Website  | Facebook  | Twitter

So what do you think?

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Published: 13 September 2011 by Double Day
Source: Library
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: *****

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.


Purchase:  Book Depository 

Review: 

I wasn't sure quite what I was expecting when I started this book and when I saw it started with second person present tense, I got a little worried as that would have to be my least favourite tense to read books in as it is very rarely done well.  However after the short prologue, it changed to third person present tense so I breathed a sigh of relief and read on.

I am so glad that I did.  I found this novel as magical, mysterious and captivating as the circus the story is about.  With a 9 month old daughter and New Years celebrations, I was unable to read this book in one sitting (it took me maybe 3-4 days?) but every time i put it down, I felt myself almost counting down till I could get back to it.

As I said, it wasn't what I expected.  The story kind of creeps up on you and casts a spell or illusion much like the main characters, Marco and Celia might create.  While still grumbling about the second person present tense, I was unaware of the illusion being formed around me and entrancing me until I was at the end and felt like I had been released from a dream.

Erin Morgenstern's writing was gorgeous and clever and the way she put the story together was genius. Even the second person present tense had its place.  Weaved in bits and pieces throughout the book, it helped tie it all together and form a link with the reader.

I am so glad I didn't put it down when I read those first few pages as I would have missed out on an incredibly magical experience.

I give this book 5 stars

Sapphired Dragon xx

Teaser Tuesday #44

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

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

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. 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 muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

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


My current read is Daynight and my three lines are from page 202:

"I am going to kill them. Every last one of them," he says. He's pacing the living room and kicking the furniture.

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.

Purchase: Book Depository

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link  to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

In My Mailbox #47

Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

A good week this week. Hope everyone had an awesome new years eve and day.  We have had hot weather here and my daughter had the week off daycare so we spent most of the week at the pool :-) In terms of books, here is my week:

Purchased:

Ordered these before Christmas and they arrived this week. I simply love the gorgeous covers and love this series! I cannot wait for January 22 when their third sister will be sent out to join them :)

Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .
Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Purchase: Book Depository

Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to Unearthly, Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

Purchase: Book Depository

Gotta Love $2 books. Checked out my local discount bookstore this week ;-)

Fracture  by Megan Miranda

I have Megan Miranda's newest title to read and review so thought I would check out some of her other stuff :)



Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.


Purchase: Book Depository 

Blood Bound (Unbound #1)  by Rachel Vincent

I have book 2 of this series (though haven't had a chance to read it yet) and I loved book 1 so saw it as a chance to complete my collection. Book #3 Oath bound is due out in April :-)



Bound by blood, condemned by fate

As a bloodtracker, Liv is extremely powerful. And in a world where power is a commodity that can get you killed, Liv's learnt to survive by her own rules.

Rule number one? Trust no one.

But when a friend's daughter goes missing, Liv is bound by a potent magical oath. She can't rest until the child is safe.
And that means trusting her dangerous ex, Cam.

A sinister prophecy tells that she and Cam will be the death of each other, yet Liv's tired of being a slave to destiny. She's ready to play the forces controlling her world at their own game.

No matter what the cost.

Purchase: Book Depository   

Unravelling  by Elizabeth Norris

I have heard good things about this book so thought i would check it out. Plus the blurb makes it sound really really good! :-)



24 meets the X Files in the biggest teen blockbuster of the summer…

STOP THE COUNTDOWN. SAVE THE WORLD…

Leaving the beach, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit head on by a pickup truck.

And killed.

Then Ben Michaels, resident stoner, is leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows Ben somehow brought her back to life…

Meanwhile, Janelle’s father, a special agent for the FBI, starts working on a case that seems strangely connected to Ben. Digging in his files, Janelle finds a mysterious device – one that seems to be counting down to something that will happen in 23 days and 10 hours time.

That something? It might just be the end of the world. And if Janelle wants to stop it, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets – and keep from falling in love with him in the process…

Purchase: Book Depository

Library: 

Friday Night Bites (Chicagoland Vampires #2) by Chloe Neill

I enjoyed Chloe Neill's Dark Elite series and have good things about the Chicagoland Vampires series so reserved the first three at my local library. Now just waiting for book 1 to become available so I am able to read this one :)



The story of a young heiress's initiation into the dark society of the Chicagoland Vampires continues:

Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they're enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite. But should people learn about the Raves--mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle--the citizens will start sharpening their stakes.

So now it's up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavory aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media. But someone doesn't want peace between them--someone with an ancient grudge.

Purchase: Book Depository

The Lost Library by A.M. Dean

Any book about a lost library has gotta be goo right? And this one is about the lost library of Alexandria. Cannot wait to read this!



#Knowledge is power and power can kill . . .
He was the keeper - Arno Holmstrand is about to die, his life cut short by an organization intent on taking all of his secrets about the one thing he has spent a lifetime guarding: the wherabouts and vast knowledge of the Library of Alexandria.
She will inherit his legacy - Emily Wess is about to have her life change beyond all recognition. One minute she is a professor of history, the next she is flying around the world deciphering clues left by her mentor Arno Holmstrand. Is she being tested?
They will kill for control - They are the Council and crave power and position. Their courruption spreads from the highest points of government to the assassins they hire to commit their crimes.They will kill for the ancient knowledge contained in the Library. And Emily Wess has exactly what they want.

Purchase: Book Depository

So what was in your mailbox this week?

WWW Wednesday #11

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you will read next?

What are you currently reading?

This is a little different from what I have been reading lately but intriguing

What did you recently finish reading?

Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

See my review here

.

The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo
Enjoyed this.  Intrigued for the next book.

The Selection by Jennifer Estep

A light enjoyable read.

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Enjoyed this but not as much as I thought I would.

What do you think you will read next??

Daynight by Megan Thomason

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.

Purchase: Book Depository

Comment: Reading this for a blog tour later this month

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.

The challenge must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Purchase: Book Depository

Comment: Reading this for book club this month

So what are you reading this week?