Hero by Samantha Young

"Caine Carraway in a business suit was gorgeous. Caine Carraway out of a suit was sexy as hell."

What a roller coaster of emotions this book takes you through.

At times I think I was more in love with Caine than Alexa and then other times all I wanted to do was knock some sense into him.

Caine doesn't think her deserves love or happiness due to decisions he has made in his past. The last person he was expecting to change this was Alexa Holland, the girls whose father ruined his life and started him on his journey of being alone.

Samantha writes this book beautifully. The book takes you through every emotion imaginable, pain, hurt, loss, love, laughter, regret, but you never feel overcome by them as there is humor placed at just the correct moments. 

The chemistry between Caine and Alexa is so well written and she was the perfect counter for his dominant male attitude. One of the main things I enjoyed about their relationship was that she pulled him up if he was out of order or crossed the line and the outcomes were very entertaining.

Caine is the first character I have read who I seriously think could over take Braden from On Dublin Street and we all know how much he is adored by Samantha's readers. I still can't decide which one I like best. It would be seriously epic just to sit them two down and see how they interact with one another. 

I have to say though my favorite character was Effie, the elderly neighbor who lives next to Caine. 

She was just hysterical and eccentric. Delivering humor at the right moments. Some of the things she came out with made me laugh out loud.

"Don't," I pleaded. "He told me to my face that he doesn't love me. I don't need false hope from you."

Effie scowled. "No, you need a swift kick up the ass."

If you are a fan of Samantha Young's On Dublin Street series, then you will definitely love Hero this is a book you just don't want to end.

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

"You will only risk your life trying to escape, Sofia. So let's make this simple.

Don't ever try it again."

I bought this book after seeing it advertised on my facebook page. Not going to lie at first I was worried that it was going to be some odd vampire version of Fifty Shades of Grey. Thankfully, it wasn't. 

I must say I am now completely hooked on this series!

One of my favorite things when reading a book is when the author doesn't fill the first few chapters of the book with a lot of mindless information about the characters, as if they are trying to catch you up with the last so many years of their lives until the moment your reading from. I usually give up pretty fast with books like that.

Bella Forrest, doesn't do this. She gives slight bits of information throughout the book but still not to much that you feel like you can predict the character.

The main characters she gives us in A Shade of Vampire Sofia and Derek. 

Sofia has crossed the boundary and fallen in love with her best friend Ben. She isn't very confident and practically hides in Ben's shadow.

One bad decision to walk to the beach ends up with her being kidnapped and taken to The Shade. 

An Island that his hidden from humans where a coven of vampires reside. Including Prince Derek, newly awoken from hundreds of years of slumber.

The pairing between these two just fits perfectly. I loved the fact that Derek was no force to be reckoned with but at the same time was affectionate and caring. 

He can't understand how Sofia has got his feelings mixed up the way they are, but one thing is for sure. He will protect her at all costs.

Sofia comes out of her shell on the Island, befriending the guards and acting as carer for other human girls that were kidnapped at the same time as her. At the beginning of her time on the Island she realizes that her best chance of survival is to remain in Derek's good graces. He is after all the Prince and strongest vampire on the Island. But spending time with him makes her see he still has a sense of humanity in him, and soon she comes to realize she wants to please him but she genuinely cares for him and how he cares for her.

However, there wouldn't be a story without danger. Lucas, Derek's elder brother was the one that kidnapped Sofia and he wants her for himself. She can't be safe with him around but she can't bare the thought of leaving Derek's side.

I will defiantly be continuing with this series and can't believe it has taken me so long to come across it. It's already at book 10!!!

FIVE STARS!!!

From Gods (Descendant Prophecies Book 1) by Mary Ting

Amazon UK

Please note there are slight spoilers in my review

I must admit this book was hard to stick with, but I kept thinking give it more time. However, even up to chapter ten I was considering giving up. 

At the start it just seemed very slow starting and having no direction, as though the author was just writing anything until they got to the more action parts of the book. 

I found some conversations just went on and on and talking about things that were completely irrelevant.

Parts of the book were very poorly written and there seemed to be far too much of so-and-so said, then so-and-so said, and then some responses to conversations made no sense what-so-ever!

The parts of the book where one character was texting another seemed to go on forever and was just dragged out to long. Example :

miss you

miss you too

bye 

bye 

(and that is a short example)

Some things were also very unbelievable. In one scene Skylar goes to buy everyone beer and when she gets asked for ID her thought is : "I forgot i couldn't buy beer because i had never bought one before"

Really? Come on. She randomly forgot she was 18. It would have been more believable if she has said she forgot her fake ID or something. 

In another scene Mason saves Skylar from one of his brothers, asks her to stay in his bed with her so he can protect her and then wakes up in the morning and has no idea why she was there
Fair enough he was drugged but when she says about his brother he remembers instantly. (not something you would forget in a hurry)

The story didn't really hold my attention at all, the ending is left on a big cliff hanger but even that isn't making me consider reading the next book

Two of of five stars for this one!

2015

Hi Guys!

I know I have been MIA for several months now. A lot of things happened, the passing of my papa, then my gran being diagnosed with cancer and passing only months later. 
With the shock of everything I decided to just take some time off. I lost count of the number of times I sat down to read or write and just couldn't find myself getting excitied or involved.
Now that I am feeling better I am hoping that this year I will get everything back on track. 
There have been a few books I have read that I never got around to posting reviews for, but because it has been a while I cannot remember enough of them to give a full detailed review, so I don't think that it would be fair to post a review for these books.
Starting now any book I read I will begin reviewing and I am now able to take requests for reviews again also by contacting me at serenamylesbooks@outlook.com

For now what I would like to do is post a few books that are going to be at the top of my reading list for 2015!

Book number 1: 

Bound By Flames

Jeaniene Frost

Release date :27 Jan 2015

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn't like Vlad to feel fear, but he does...for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him, Vlad's love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both...

I have loved this series from the start and can't wait for the third installment. 

 Jeaniene Frost wasn't an author I had read before but since reading this series she is one of my favourite authors around. 

I told my friend about this book and she has been hooked on the series ever since as well.

Book number 2: 

Hero By Samantha Young

Release date : 3rd February 2015

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero-until her shocking discovery. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.
Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and all-consuming affair.
Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for, and when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again . . .

What can I say about Samantha? The first book I ready by Samantha was Moon Spell, which is the first book in her The Tale Of Lunamorte series. That series knocked me off my feet and since then I have read every book she has released. 
With every genre and book she releases she gives you intriguing characters and gripping stories.
I have seen myself buy one her books before even reading what it is about.
From what we know of Hero it seems like Samantha has done it again and I already have this one pre-ordered. 

Book number 3 : 

 Three Brothers By Nicole Williams

Release 20th January 2015

I grew up with three brothers. They weren’t tied to me by blood, but our connection went beyond genetics or bearing the same last name. Our connection was forged the summer I turned thirteen, the summer my mom ended her life and left me in the custody of John Armstrong, a man I’d never met. Packing all I owned in a couple of boxes, I left the familiarity of the big city and headed west to Red Mountain Ranch, set in a lonely valley outside of Jackson Hole.

Nothing was as it seemed at Red Mountain—it didn’t take long for me to figure that out. John was kind to me but distant, as if he was afraid to let anyone get too close. His three teenage sons had their own devices for keeping love as far away as they could. The eldest distracted himself with cheap relationships that had a shelf-life of one night. The middle son threw himself into the rigor of running a ranch, and the third wielded cruelty and mind-games in his quest to keep people from getting close.

Time has gone by, and I’ve spent those years trying to forget the brother I’d fallen for—the biggest mistake of my life.

Finally, I’ve moved on. Finally, I’m back. But what I didn’t realize was that running away from the wrong brother meant I’d also run away from the right one. The one who’d been there for me all along, waiting in his brother’s shadow for the day I either would or could move on.

But a decade is a long time to wait. Has the brother I should have chosen all of those years ago moved on too? Am I about to discover that my biggest mistake wasn’t falling in love with the wrong brother, but failing to return the love of the right one sooner?

Does unrequited love have an expiration date?

I’m about to find out.

This is a new author for me. I haven't read anything of hers before but the cover first drew my attention and the blurb has me intrigued. 

I don't have much more to say on this at the moment, but will post a review when I have finished it.

 I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year and look forward to hearing from you throughout 2015!!

Scar Crow Blog Tour!!

Nineteen-year-old Emily Sheppard is losing her sanity. 

Ever since her mob king boyfriend, Cameron Hillard, abandoned her for her own good, Emmy has been attempting to move on with her charmed college student life as if nothing happened. Now rejected from the underworld and left grieving over Cameron’s alleged death.

Emmy realizes she belongs nowhere. Worse yet, she is now keeping a dangerous secret.

After just a short time with Emily, Cameron has lost control over his world. As he miserably attempts to return to what is left of his life and unravel the mess he has made of the underworld, Emily’s hate turns to desperation. She needs to kill the kingpins responsible for Cameron’s death before they come looking for her. As Cameron secretly observes Emily, he has no idea of the danger he has placed her in—or that it may already be too late for him to save her.

Scare Crow is a tale of revenge, terror, and love as Emmy and Cameron embark on separate journeys to face enemies, correct past mistakes, and find their way to their destinies.

Click  HERE  

 Crows Row/Scare Crow Trailer!

A former germaphobe and clean-freak turned mother of two, Julie collects enough tears and snot in a month to recreate Slimer Monster from Ghostbusters. Other than playing devoted wife and mama, Julie is the funniest person in the room (according to the 3 year-old and 2 year-old in said room) and can build the most awesome Lego rocket ship you’ve ever set your eyes on (according to her). Oh, and she has a full time career and has also written a bestselling novel. Superhero, or just downright insane?

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Crows Row Release Blitz!!

For college student Emily Sheppard, the thought of spending a summer alone in New York is much more preferable than spending it in France with her parents. 

Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library.

During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bill’s grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killing—and then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes she’s been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. 

She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long.

Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty- six-year-old Cameron. She understands it’s a forbidden love and one that won’t allow her to return to her previous life. 

But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.

"I know you don't believe anything I say, so there's no point in me trying to defend myself to you anymore, even if it kills me to see you so disgusted with me. But there's one thing I do need you to know: I love you Emmy. I've loved you for a very long time." He turned his eyes to me for the briefest of moments, and I felt a crack in my newly erected armour. "To have you here with me ... I guess in some sick way, for a while, I thought that this could work. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do, but it looks like I managed to do that anyway." He took another breath. "This place is where I have to be, but it's not a place where you can or should be. There's nothing that I can do to change that. I won't force this life on you."

A former germaphobe and clean-freak turned mother of two, Julie collects enough tears and snot in a month to recreate Slimer Monster from Ghostbusters. Other than playing devoted wife and mama, Julie is the funniest person in the room (according to the 3 year-old and 2 year-old in said room) and can build the most awesome Lego rocket ship you’ve ever set your eyes on (according to her). Oh, and she has a full time career and has also written a bestselling novel. Superhero, or just downright insane?

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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