Velvet by Temple West Review #89

Author: Temple  West
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Pages: 386
Source: Amazon Canada
Buy: Amazon/ Barnes and Noble / Book Depository/ Chapters
Rating: 5/5

First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love. After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire. Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart? Image and Synopsis from Goodreads

GAHHH this book was A-MAZNG!!! I loved it!! It was so addicting and I could not put it down nor stop thinking about it when I actually did put it down.
So I bought Velvet off of Amazon since my local bookstore did not have it in stock. The first thing I noticed when I received it in the mail was : WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PAPERBACK!!

 Honestly, the book is a) nice to hold in your hands b) smooth c) has little hearts dotting the page numbers :D My favourite paperback to date. Also the cover, just, basically, screams for anyone attention (it'd haunting and beautiful at the same time).
I have not read a vampire book in a LONG time. I actually almost forgot they existed but Velvet pulled me back. When I first read that it was a vampire book and there is a vampire family....I was like OMG this is going to be identical to the Twilight saga. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT  (not that I am against that series or anything but I was looking for originality)!!

Velvet is definitely an original take on paranormal subject of vampires and honestly I adored that.


Yah, they drink blood. Yah, they are technically immortal. However, the myth varies a bit from other YA vampire novels in my opinion. It steers clear from vampires naturally becoming what they are do to vampire bites and moves more in the direction of how vampires are created. Am I making any sense??

Also the vampire love interest is actually TEENAGE AGE!! HE SPEAKS LIKE A NORMAL YOUTH :D NOT A 100 YEAR OLD MAN XD He is also a cute, intellectual and a dork XD
The romance and interaction between the characters are what made this novel so enjoyable. The witty banter and also the plain interaction between Adrian and Caitlin is super adorable (ex; Dead Canadian, little spoon/big spoon)

The first novel spends a lot of time on these two characters going from friendship/bodyguard relationship to having a romantic interest for one another.

The world building is definitely well built and the novel leaves the reader at the end with A LOT OF QUESTIONS that will hopefully be answered in the next book. What is the point of the nightmares??
I liked that there was no love triangle. The novel focuses on one relationship :D The side characters (Trish, Jenny, Stephanie etc;) all have their own personality and they brought Stony Creek to life. The Victoria Secret scene had me laughing out of my seat. And will we see more of Mark in the second novel?

I did not like Caitlin's character for the first fifty pages. I just could not connect and she was so whiny and childish. However, I believe that the reader is suppose to feel like that. Why?  Because Caitlin is not in a very good place when the readers meet her. She is very sad and angry. Sad about her mother's death and angered at her aunt and uncle. Put it blankly: she is not very fun to be around.

Overall I LOVED this book and cannot wait for it's sequel. Adrian is definitely one of my favourite fictional, vampire characters.

And yes...I decided to give gifs a go :D

Waiting on Wednesday - June 3, 2015

Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release: June 9th, 2015
Preorder: Amazon / Chapters / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago. When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble. To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie? Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her. Image and Synopsis from Goodreads

Thoughts: At first when I read this I immediately thought of a zombie apocalypse. However, this is sometime different, it's a soul-consuming demon apocalypse. This book seems like it will be an adventure on it's own and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

What is your Waiting on Wednesday??? Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the spine.

Waiting on Wednesday: May 27, 2015

Author:Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children
Release: September 1st, 2015
Preorder:Amazon/Chapters/ Barnes and Noble/ Book Depository

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world. Image and Synopsis from Goodreads

Thoughts: I LOVE THIS SERIES!! I literally devoured the first two books back to back. Celaena is just an amazing character. I actually haven't read the third book in the series because I am waiting for Queen of Shadows to come out so I can do back to back reading XD And how badass is that cover??

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey Review #88

Author: Melissa Grey
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 357
Source: Amazon Canada 
Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository/ Chapters/Indigo 
Rating: 3.8 

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known. Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act. Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it. But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

The one aspect of The Girl at Midnight that captivated me the most, while reading, was the use of foreign words (example : tsundoku and callipygian). The words were so beautifully interwoven into the novel and reflected the adventure Echo and her friends faced while travelling to different parts of the world (Japan, New York and Taipei to name a few).

Grey's novel, I admit, took me a while to get hooked onto (maybe about 200 pages in I was addicted) and the ending was fabulously done. The ending had just enough action and excitement that you could not put the book done. I literally ploughed through 150 pages in one sitting.

Echo's world mixes real life settings with paranormal atmospheres (think The Mortal Instrument series) and was well built. I, as a reader, had no trouble understanding the Avicen and Drakharin myth and why they were at war with one another. The world Melissa Grey built was easy to get lost into and I was constantly cheering for Echo and the team. My only complaint is that I wished the Avicen were better described. I had a hard time with picturing what they looked like.

Echo was a well developed character. She goes from feeling like an outsider within the Avicen to belonging to a family of her own. I loved both Echo's rebelliousness and snarky-ness. Echo's troubled past is hinted at in the first book and I hope we, as readers, learn more in the sequel.

Echo, in the first half of the book, is dating Rowan. Rowan is an Avicen and a Warhawk so his loyalty is, obviously, torn in half. A part of him wants to be faithful (and protective) towards Echo and the other half wants to follow through on his duties of being a Warhawk. Eventually Echo falls in love with Caius. Rowan and Echo's relationship do not overshadow Caius and Echo's relationship which is nice. However, I would have liked to seen more of Rowan interacting with Echo because he felt more like a background character in Echo's life.

My favourite characters were: Dorian, Jasper and Ivy. I absolutely loved how these three interacted with one another and was excited whenever a chapter containing the three came up. I definitely thought of Alec, Magnus and Jace's relationship (from The Mortal Instruments) while reading about Caius, Jasper and Dorian's relationship.  I really liked Ivy's and Dorian's relationship. Chapters were told in different character's POV. This allowed the readers to see both Dorian's and Ivy's perspectives on certain events. Dorian is angered and traumatized over events that have happened in his past and takes it out on Ivy who eventually forgives him (even though what Dorian did was horrendous) because staying angry or acting meaner brings about no end.

Due to the multiple character views the readers learn Caius's true identity way before Echo does. I think it would have been neat and a great plot twist to seen the readers learn Caius's true identity the same time Echo does.

The big plot twist at the end wasn't that shocking however, it was nicely done and made the book more interesting.

Overall: I really enjoyed The Girl at Midnight especially the last half of the book. I am looking forward to the sequel :D