Pieces of Gray (Broken Pieces #4) by Kelly Moore

Title: Pieces of Gray (Broken Pieces #4) by Kelly Moore

Publication Date: January 7, 2017 

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing 

Book Summary

      Gray is a sniper for the military where she meets the love of her life, Kell Crew. They both end up on a mission in China that leads the two of them captured. Gray believes Kell is dead and when she is rescued she leaves him behind. Eventually, she learns that Kell isn't dead and she will do whatever she can to bring him home. 

Gray Milby -The female main character is a complete bad ass. She is an impressive sniper. I love how strong her character and isn't a "fake" strong character like some books have. She's been through hell and back, and in the end she is willing to sacrifice her happiness for someone else's. She also shows she is human and has moments of weakness. 

Kell Crew -The male love interest who has quite a tragic story. I loved his character and his interaction with the main female.

+/- 

(+) Bad ass female sniper 

(+) tragic male/tragic female backstory 

(-)Spoiler.... a loss 

(+)family relationships

(-) Felt a bit rushed 

(-)The name Gray  

(-) Marc, it was like his character was forgotten 

I received a copy of this book free from Book sprout in exchange for an honest review. As much as I enjoyed this book and it is an easy read, I can only see myself giving it three out of five stars. I felt like some of the story was a bit rushed especially towards the ending. I don't know if I'll read any of the other books in the series but, I might in the future. If the other writes a story with Kell as the main point of view, I would definitely read that. Especially, if he gets a back story. I loved his character.

Rating:3/5

Cover:2.5/5 I feel the cover is kind of bland compared to most. I do love how it is grey and fits with the title of the book. 

Dead Silence (The Everlasting Chronicles #1) by K.G. Reuss (some spoilers!)

Title: Dead Silence (The Everlasting Chronicles #1) by K.G. Reuss 

Publication Date: June 2018 (Original November 2017)

Publisher:

Book Summary
     Everly has seen this shadow man for as long as she can remember, he's been her protector against the evil demons. She had a break from the shadow man and the dead for a few years but, they come back into her life. 

Everly- Everly is the main character who is described as an outsider but, has a popular best friend. She even dated a popular guy who turned out to be a D-bag. 

Dylan (ex)-He is a major douche bag and reminds me of some of the guys I've dated in the past. I find him very pointless and hope he disappears from the series.

Shadow-He is mysterious and is currently unnamed in the first book. Shadow is my favorite character because he's mysterious and I have a guess on who he actually is.

+/-

(+) The mystery behind the Shadow man. It was unique to me and new compared to what I'm used to reading.

(-) The douche bag ex boyfriend. He was a pig and I found his character to be rather pointless 

(+) The relationship between Everly and her best friend! (I wouldn't mind reading a book about her best friend). 

(-) I felt like the beginning of the book was a slow start, the middle and end picked up and I can't wait until book number 2. 

(-) Everly's father 

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the website BookSprout.  I give this book a 3 out of 5 because it has some unique elements but, the first few chapters were kind of boring to be honest. I found some of the characters pointless and couldn't handle the scenes with Dylan (Ex-boyfriend) and Everly.  I am excited to read book number two when it comes out!

Rating:3/5 

Cover:4.5/5 I love this cover 

Midnight Frost (Mythos Academy#5) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Midnight Frost (Mythos Academy#5) by Jennifer Estep

Publication Date: July 30th 2013

Publisher:K-Teen

ARC copy Thankfully given to me for an honest review via Net Galley 

Book Summary
         Life at Mythos Academy gets more dangerous for Gwen when a Reaper tried to poison her in the Library of Antiquities. The good news is she is alive but, the bad new is someone else was poisoned by the Reaper instead. Everyone expects Gwen to lead the charge against the Reapers because she is Nike's Champion. She has to find the antidote fast or someone innocent will die. 

            

Gwen- Gwen has come along way since the first book in Mythos Academy series. Her character is more of a fighter now but, she still has her moments of weakness which makes her more real like. 

Daphne-Daphne is Gwen's best friend. She is opposite of Gwen, she loves the color pink and acts really girly where as Gwen is kind of a tomboy. Daphne like Gwen, has come along way since the first book. Even though Daphne is a girly girl, she is a fierce fighter.

Alexei- Alexei is a Bogatyr. He is one of my favorite characters in Mythos Academy series. He seems to be fitting into the series quite well. 

Oliver- Oliver is the only one who Logan is basically keeping in contact with. We don't get too much from him about Logan but, enough to know how he is. 

Coach Ajax-Even though Coach Ajax appears in the other books in Mythos Academy series, in Midnight Frost, he has a bigger role. I loved the fact that we get to see him have a bigger part in the series because he only seemed to be in the other books a little. Coach Ajax is a Spartan. 

Rory- She is a new character introduced into the Mythos Academy series. Even though her character is first introduced as a rude girl, I enjoyed her character. She is a feisty Spartan. I hope we see more of Rory in the next book even if it is a short part. 

+/- or Dislikes/likes

(+) I love the concept of trying to prevent a war with the reapers

(+) Gwen and the team going to another academy for a visit

(-) Logan doesn't come into the story until later on.

(-) The person who gets poisoned :( 

(-/+) The Reapers

(+)Action packed 

(+)Fight Scenes

(+) I love the cover
(+)Learning more about Gwen's family

Favorite Scene/Quotes
         "All right, all right," I groused. "You can stay. But only because you're cute, and I need some eye candy to look at."


I really enjoyed Midnight Frost but, I didn't like it as much as I enjoyed Crimson Frost (Book 4). The action seemed to be less in this book compared to the previous book. I was so excited when I got accepted to read this early via Netgalley but, I felt less excited during some of Midnight Frost. Jennifer Estep does a lovely job writing Midnight Frost as she has with the other books in this series. 

Rating:3/5

Cover:4/5

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Title: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Publication Date: March 26,2013

Publisher:St.Martin's Griffin

ARC from NetGalley 

Book Summary
Carey and her younger sister, Jenessa have been living in the woods ever since they can remember with their mother. Often abandoned by their mother for long periods of time. Eventually, Carey's father finds them and they are brought into a new world with shopping malls, new clothes and tasty food. Jenessa has stopped talking after an incident happened in the woods that haunts Carey. 

Carey-At the start I wasn't to sure if I would like her character but, A few pages in she grew on me. She is very mature for her age as she has been keeping her sister and her alive whenever, her mother isn't around. 

Jenessa-In the start of the book it is learned that she doesn't talk. We don't learn the reason until the end of the book. Since her character is only six, she is adored by the family and doesn't struggle to adapted to this new life unlike her older sister. 

Ryan Shipley- I loved his character! He was the first person to talk to Carey when she entered the high school and showed her to her class. I found his character to be sweet but, I wish we could of seen more of him towards the end. 

Delaney-I wasn't a big fan of her character and thought she was selfish. Even though she gets better towards the end of the story, I still couldn't relate to her. I understood why she acted selfish but, it seemed still wrong after knowing what Jenessa and Carey went through. 

Mrs. Haskell-At first, I didn't like her character because she seemed to act in a rude way. She isn't a big character so we don't get to learn to much about her. I could tell after awhile she cared for the girls and wanted the best for them. 

+/- or Dislikes/likes

+The writing style
+How the author tackled a hard subject and did it beautifully.
+Ryan/Carey's friendship
-The ending seemed to end leaving me a bit left out on what happens to Carey at the end.
-Carey's mother
+I love how the cover has a dark tone to it
+Powerful scenes/moments throughout the book

I was nervous about starting this book as sometimes harsh topic are hard to portray in a book but, Emily Murdoch knew what she was doing  I felt like her characters were real people and I felt sad for what they went through. I thought the book was going to drag on during the first few pages but, that changed, I couldn't put the book down and finished it all in one day. If Emily Murdoch ends up writing another book like "If You Find Me", I will be reading it. While reading, I realized I really enjoy Emily's writing style. 

Rating:4/5 

Cover:3/5 

Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

Title: Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy #4)

Publication Date: December 24,2012

Publisher: K-Teen

ARC copy Thankfully given to me for an honest review via Net Galley and Kensington Publishing Corp. 

Book Summary

            Gwen is a second year student at Mythos Academy, a school for wiz kids like her. She is one of the very few Gypsy who attends the school. She has just recently helped the evil God Loki free against her will. She is arrested by Logan's father, Linus. The whole school believes she is guilty. It is a race against time to try to prove her innocence.  

Gwen: I love her character more in this book compared to the previous ones. She is starting to shape into a real fighter. Gwen is a Gypsy with the power of Psychometry. Gwen is also Nike's champion which has been past down throughout her family.

Alexei: He is a brand new character in the story and he is starting to be one of my favorites. At first I didn't like how much of a jerk he was. He is a Russian warrior and when he fights, he sounds like a really beastly fighter.

Logan: I love his character way more in this book, I feel like I get a better insight of what his character is like. In the last book he acted like a complete jerk and in this one he redeemed himself. Logan is a spartan and I enjoy hearing about his love for fighting. 

Daphne: I love how she has became Gwen's best friend throughout the series. Daphne is a Valkyrie. 

Linus: I wasn't a fan of him. I felt at times that Gwen should have punched him or Nikamedes should have. Even at the end of the book; I wasn't a fan of his. 

Vivian: She is a piece of work but, I enjoyed her character even though she is on the opposite team. I felt like her character felt real.

Nikamedes: Despite the rough patch between Gwen and him in the first few books during the third book the relationship between the two seems to become better. In the first two books, his character was just there for me, I didn't hate him or love him, I was just content with his character. 

+/- 
+/- Logan and Gwen's first official date... It started of great 
-Logan's dad, Linus. I hated his character throughout the whole book 
-Loki and the reapers. 
+The fight scenes 
+/- Alexei's character; I liked him some of them time but, other times I wanted to shake him senseless
+Russian characters
+Friends sticking by each others side
+The whole Mytho's world 

Crimson Frost is filled with a lot of action and left me on my seat wondering what Gwen was going to do next. This is my favorite out of the series so far. I didn't want to put the book down, the ending left me hanging. I can't wait until the next book. 

Rating: 4/5

Cover:  3/5

Lies Beneath

         

Title: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown 

Publication Date: June 12th 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books

ARC E-book via Netgalley 

Summary

    Calder White and his three sisters live in the dept of Lake Superior. They are bent on revenge because of the promise that lead to their mother's death. They prey on humans killing them in order to absorb their energy that the mermaids do not have. Calder sets his eyes on Lily in order to get to her father in order to receive his freedom.

+1 Opening sentence.... nothing like starting a book with a killer. 
I thought mermaids were friendly creatures.... I mean Little mermaid didn't look like a killer to me?  

I feel weird reading in a male point of view especially when he thinks about having his ways with girls.... Killing poor innocent girls. 

The ending was freaking impressive!!!!  I fell in love with the ending but, the beginning of the book was such a dread... At first I was like, if there is a second book I refuse to read it but, the ending gave me hope of enjoyment with the second. Not enough for a higher rating to this book though.

Stalker Calder-At first I wasn't too keen on the character and his narration left me bored a lot of the time when reading this. I did however started liking him after he felt a deeper connection to Lily.

Lily- I really enjoyed her character she was entertaining. 

Tallulah- I liked that she seemed to be the only sister who seemed to care about Calder. She wasn't a favorite but, I admired her until certain events. 

Maris- She is a lovely bitter witch...... well not really a witch but, you know what I mean... I hated how she was so controlling of her sisters and Calder. 

Jack-I disliked him.... he seems like a perfect match for Maris.... They both can be bitter together....except Jack wasn't really bitter just a jerk... I liked when Calder messed with him... Serves him right for trying to get with Lily. 

Rating-2/5

Cover-4/5

 

Halflings

    

Title: Halflings by Heather Burch 

Publication Date: January 17 2012

Publisher: Zondervan

E-book via Netgalley 

Book Summary

Nikki Youngblood is a black belt in karate but, has no experience with boys. Someone or something is after her and in order to protect her life she has three boys to watch over her. These three boys are sent on a journey that has them protecting someone, this time it is a teenage girl.

Kudos to the author for starting the first chapter with some action. Usually books wait until the middle before deciding to bring out some action pack fun. 

Mace/Raven/Nikki triangle- I am not a fan of this triangle.... I felt weird when she is like eye sexing Raven after she has the major hots for Mace. Raven is the hot bad boy....but Mace is way better for her <3 

Mace- I loved this character <3. He was just too sweet and I felt like he countered his bad brother Raven. He was meant for Nikki.... (:

Nikki- She was a good main girl in the book, in a way she reminded me of one of my favorite book characters. She has the sense to fight and defend for herself instead of being a mary sue and play the hopeless victim.

Raven-Every book needs a bad boy which I think Raven fits this perfectly. He seems to be a playboy which to be honest fits his character. He does not belong with Nikki though. The romance between the both of them seemed forced.   



-1 I didn't like how when we find out who is after Nikki the book ends.... it felt like the plot was useless since it wasn't solved.... I guess it was a smart move to ensure I read the next book to find out what happened. 


I had high hopes for this book being a better rating then a 3 but, towards the middle it felt kind of like a let down with the pace and plot etc. I will say it was tolerable to want to read book 2 in hopes for more action packed fun. I mean the author writes well and includes a good mix of romance/action it just seemed like the action felt odd.... I also have to say that for being written in third person point of view the book did great to capture all the characters without giving to much away before the story ended.

Rating-3.5/5

Cover-4.9/5 (As a graphics person good covers make me think more on which books to pick up to read. I really love this cover)