Book Review: An Ember in The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Published: April 28th, 2015
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Summary: Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. When Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

A classic good vs. evil but the complexity of the characters and magic made my heart race.

Book Review: Vendetta by Catherine Doyle

Vendetta (Blood for Blood #1) by Catherine Doyle 
Published: February 24th, 2015
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Summary: When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.

A mysteriously fun read which surprised me.

Book Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch
Published: October 14th, 2014
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Summary: A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.


A good old-fashioned fantasy tale with lots of heart set in a rich and unique world.

Book Review: Fuel the Fire by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Fuel the Fire (Calloway Sisters #4) by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Published: April 3rd, 2014
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Summary:
Protect your family. At all costs.
It’d take the impossible to hurt Connor Cobalt, even for a moment.

Protect your family. At all costs. 
At twenty-six, his narcissistic tendencies have made room for the people he loves.

Protect your family. At all costs.
And he loves Rose. But when his love is threatened, when his greatest dreams with her are compromised — what is the cost then?

Protect your family. At all costs.
Love will guide his choices.
For the first time in his life.

I cried I laughed I loved every moment

March in Review

Here we go! I'm going to try to be more active with my blog -I say this every month. Blogging for me is just a way to write down my thoughts about all the books I read. And last time I did a monthly review (back in November), I had the chance to include books I don't have a lot of thoughts on.

I read 7 books during the month of marc. I'm still not over most of them I can say.

Vendetta (Blood for Blood #1) by Catherine Doyle
Rating: 4 Stars -This was fun and interesting. To be honest, I picked this up because the synopsis said 5 mysterious brothers move into the neighbourhood and then a chain of events set off. I'm a sucker like that. But this book ended up surprising me. Definitely the plot is based up on revenge and mystery. I love this one particular brother he makes my heart beat irregularly. I quite admire the main character, Sophie. She had a good sense of sensibility at times but there was a balance of impulsiveness. I can't wait for the sequel. Things are gonna get real interesting.

The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Rating: 4 stars -This one still gives me mixed feelings but the overall conclusion I had is that it was a wonderful reading experience. I was on the edge of my seat and I never saw the plot twists coming. Definitely a very dark tone to this book and some of the characters are just batshit crazy. I loved the world! I've done a full review here. The thing that lacked may have been the characters and the romance but it's not terrible. I'm confident this is going to be a great series.

The Winner's Curse & The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #1 & #2) by Marie Rutkoski
Rating: 5 stars (both) -I am currently in the midst of writing my review for both these books but it's looking more like a raving fest and exclamation of all my pain. I read The Winner's Curse when it first came out and this month I re-read it to prepare for the sequel. No amounts of words will explain how much I love this series. It's definitely hit me in the deepest part of my soul. TWCurse was fantastic but dare I say it, TWCrime just blows everything out of the water. It's absolute perfection!

Froi of The Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles #2) by Melina Marchetta 
Rating: 5 stars -I should have taken notes while reading this because at this point all I can say is that this was brilliance and heartbreak all neatly wrapped in the most wonderful of reading experiences. I loved Finnikin of The Rock and while I do think the 1st book & the 2nd cannot be compared -they're both aiming to do separate things, I still loved Froi of The Exiles so much more. I was so glad that all my favourites from the first book were still very much front and centre here. I also loved the new characters introduced. Everything was great and I can't wait to start the conclusion to this trilogy. In the meantime I'll nurse myself back to being okay because the ending of this destroyed me. I definitely understand now what all my friends meant when they raved about this series.

A Rogue by Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1) by Sarah MacLean

Rating: 5 stars -Sometimes you just need to read something fluffy and sweet and it's wonderful when a book manages to make you happy. I haven't read much historical romance but this was fantastic and I need to read more. If you're in the mood for something light and sweet yet not completely cheesy, I'd recommend this. The characters are actually well thought out and I adored everything. I'm planning to pick up the rest of the series soon.

Loving Mr. Daniels by Brittainy C. Cherry
Rating: 3.75 -I thought the Student-Teacher romance bit would be the main part of this story but thank fully it wasn't. It's definitely about broken characters and them trying to just get by. I was quite surprised by how much I loved this. The banter and the relationship between the two main characters was wonderful and sweet. While there was an overwhelming amount of emotional overload in the second half of the novel, I still ended up enjoying this a lot.

When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill (Liz Czukas)

Rating: 4 -I'm not the biggest fan of friends to lovers stories but When Joss Met Matt is one of the best ones I've read. It spans over 7 years and it's one of those slowburn romances but I loved how fluid the story felt. The relationship, feelings and character development was quite smooth which I appreciated. I loved the banter in this book because the main protagonists felt like actual friends you know? There was great balance between that aspect. Also, the characters are very flawed and very real. The ending was fantastic and grin inducing. 

Rose Calloway's Guide to Being Fabulous [Fuel the Fire Tour + Giveaway by Krista & Becca Ritchie]

Hello friends! I am so so excited for this post because it's celebrating the release of the second-last book in the Addicted Series/Calloway Sisters by Krista & Becca Ritchie. It also happens to be the last book in the POVs of Connor Cobalt and Rose Calloway. Krista & Becca always outdo themselves tour upon tour. I've been dying to share this post ever since I saw it in my inbox.Beware that as you read on you may hear Glamorous by Fergie slowly playing in your head cause that's who Rose Calloway is. All glamour, fab and genius.
Rose happens to be one of my all-time favourite female fictional characters and so it was necessary that we get advice from the queen herself. To be honest, Rose could probably write a whole book on being fabulous so I'm sure she had trouble narrowing down to only 5 tips. So without further ado, read on for Rose Calloway's Guide to Being Fabulous.
You can check out the rest of the tour stops here and remember to purchase FTF on April 3rd!

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ROSE CALLOWAY’S GUIDE TO BEING FABULOUS

Owner of Calloway Couture, lover of high heels and black outfits, Rose Calloway is all about fashion. One of her biggest rules is always to be you no matter what kind of style you’re flaunting. But she also has 5 tips if you’re looking to be super fabulous. Read them under the cut.

Book Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury
Published: March 1st, 2015
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Summary:
I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it's price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla's fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla's chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen's, some truths should not be told...


Mixed feelings aside I was on the edge of my seat through the entirety

Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard
Published: February 10th, 2015
Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon | B&N | Indigo
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The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?


Dystopian meets Fantasy but it's the usual Upper & Lower class revolution

Book Review: The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

The Conspiracy of Us (The Conspiracy of Us #1) by Maggie Hall
Published: January 13th, 2015
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon | B&N | Indigo
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Summary: Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family--but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with. 



High fashion meets international levels of conspiracy meaning it's all I've ever dreamed of

Connor Cobalt: Birthday & Giveaway!

Hello everyone! So Siiri asked me if I wanted to be part of a birthday event for Richard Connor Cobalt from The Addicted Series/Calloway Sisters and I don't think I even blinked before answering. This is such an exciting post with some super awesome giveaways and I'm excited to be a part of it (let's count the amount of times I say excited). Celebrating fictional characters' birthdays is what I do anyways (it's totally normal!) but when that character is from one of my absolute favourite series? There's no question that I'd be part of it. 

I'm sure the majority of folks reading this are probably already members of the Fizzle Force but if you're not then I'll do a quick introduction to Connor Cobalt:

Connor is from a New Adult series written by Krista & Becca Ritchie. While he's a side character in the addicted books, he's the main protagonist in the spin-offs; Calloway Sisters.  If you've not read Addicted Series yet, I did a post on the reasons I love The Addicted Series which I hope convinces you to pick these amazing books up right now. Now, one of the major reasons I do adore these books are because of one Mr. Cobalt which is why we're celebrating him today!

Below, I've written some words about Connor accompanied by some edits I've put together. There's an amazing giveaway and to increase your chances at winning, you can participate in a treasure hunt to gain extra entries!

Be Sure to Check Out All the Participating Blogs:

Little Pieces of Imagination 

Addicted Series Daily 

Fluttering Heart Book Nest 

Nick’s Book Blog 

Book-a-holic Fairies 

Addicted Series Fan Page 

Foxy Blogs 

Calloway Books 

Teacups and Book Love 

Number for my post is 1