Bonds of Fenris by S.J. Bell

Summary: Talia Thornwood's life ended one year ago, when she became a werewolf. She survived the attack, and the horrifying transformation a month later, but the life she has now is barely worth living. She lurks about in a filthy, run-down house, with too many werewolves crammed into too small a space. Every day is a struggle against the stress of human contact, the romantic prodding of her obnoxious packmate Pierce, and the gnawing hunger for flesh in her soul. 

She's all but resigned herself to a dreary existence on the margins of society when she meets Corwin. Corwin is a werewolf like none other. He walks among humans as if it was nothing, and can keep his wolf under control even when the moon is full. Talia's mind is suddenly opened to the possibilities before her, and the realization of how little she really knows about lycanthropy.

Corwin claims that he can teach her how to cope as he does, even how to transcend her affliction. But it will not be easy. It is a hard education that requires her to question everything her pack taught her, and confront exactly what she has become. And, more amazingly, what she never stopped being.

Review: Bonds of Fenris is an excellent story to show readers what might be going on in a human’s head as they change into a werewolf. I knew it was a sort of growing up story and I naturally assumed it was about Talia growing up, but every character had their chance to grow. I liked all of the characters a lot. They showed great depth and strength. Pierce annoyed me though. He took some getting used to. I liked the concept of Bonds of Fenris very much. There are a lot of books about shifters out, but I haven’t seen too many go into detail about how a new wolf might feel after being infected. This book does a great job with getting you into that mindset. The fear and the confusion. I saw the ending coming though. It wasn’t something I figured out from the first chapter, but a few pages before the big shock thing is revealed I knew what was going on. I do indeed recommend you checking this book out if you want a good read from the POV of someone who doesn’t like to be a wolf. In a lot of shifter books I’ve read, the main characters feel at home in their wolf skin, but no one in this pack was like that. It was a nice change from the rest of the shifter books out there.

4 howls

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Summary: Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look. 

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.  

Review: Nevermore was a nice paranormal young adult book, but the characters were pretty generic. I might just be sick of the typical young adult story. Varen was the misunderstood goth kid which his foot in the paranormal world. Isobel was the obnoxious, preppy cheerleader. That being said, they were good to read. Isobel annoyed me a little bit, but for the most part I liked reading them. Reynolds might be my favorite character. I only say "might" because I haven't quite made up my mind about whether I like him or not. I'm interested to see how his character is handled in Enshadowed. Pinfeather and Scrim were interesting little characters as well. I'm rather curious about them in general. Like I said, this is a paranormal young adult story, but there were some interesting characters/situations. I liked the Nocs. They were creepily different. I hope to see more of them in book 2. It didn't feel like Nevermore was 500+ pages either. I thought the story moved at a decent pace. So while Nevermore isn't exactly the "fresh, new" story people might be waiting for, I feel like it is certainly worth checking out. I enjoyed it very much, and I can't wait to read Enshadowed.

4 howls

Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

Summary: Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment is a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance- and is unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, desolate netherworld—he turns to the angel to save his former mate, only to despair at the path he himself must take to set her free. As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vies for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past, and a future that he doesn’t know he can live with… but can’t seem to turn away from.

Review: I ended Lover Reborn with all the feels. All of them! What am I honestly supposed to say about this book? First off, Tohr is my favorite Brother. He always has been, and he probably always will be. I was nervous about this book mostly because he's my favorite and I wanted him to be happy, but I wasn't sure if that was possible with past events. He grew a lot throughout this book which was exciting to see. I liked getting to know No'One as well. I don't remember her being introduced into the series to be honest (it's been a while since I've read a BDB book), so it was nice to meet her as a semi-new character. She seemed to grow a lot as well. I loved watching her relationship with Xhex evolve. I liked seeing Layla again. She gets some hate from people, and I'm not really sure why. She wasn't my favorite person in this book, but I don't hate her. Can I just say I loved Lassiter in this story? He was just fantastic. The story was excellent, and you get a better look at Xcor and his group of followers. There was friction in another relationship because of some stuff that happens in this book, but it was believable. As much as I like seeing characters happy I do enjoy seeing some conflict as well. There are some things I wonder about after ending Lover Reborn, but I won't go into speculation or anything because of spoilers.

4.5 howls

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Summary: Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Review: It's time for Payne and Manny I guess. I've actually been wanting Manny to have his own book ever since he was introduced. He is a sweet character, but he's also very strong. I ended up feeling bad for him through a good chunk of this book though because of all the mind-screwing that goes on. Payne wasn't a character I could really judge straight off. You get to know her a bit in Sanctuary, but now she's in the mortal world with the Brotherhood so she has to learn a completely new lifestyle. Her ignorance was cute. I found it absolutely hilarious the way she had to learn certain things. I liked the way her relationship worked with Manny mostly because it leaked into Jane's relationship with V, and I thought it went along well. I also liked how Manny wasn't like, "Oh. Mate? Okay then." He was conflicted about the whole thing which I felt was more realistic. Maybe it's because he's a human and he had no prior knowledge of the Brotherhood's customs. Another thing I liked was the conflict between older couples. I know that these books are romances and they're about HEAs, but no relationship is perfect. There will be issues and it's good to see some of that realism crop up.

4 howls

A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing by Terry Spear

Summary: Meara Greymere is in charge of the cabin rentals on the rugged Oregon coastline, so her brother and his mate could take a delayed honeymoon. But while Hunter is away, the she-wolf intends to play—she just has to convince the right alpha male to rent one of the cabins, and she’ll take it from there. But when Finn Emerson arrives with every intention of pretending to be her lover, she's not going to take this lying down. She knows he'll tell her brother what she's up to and put an end to her game.

Finn Emerson is an ex-Navy SEAL, formerly one of Hunter Greymere’s team members, and now he's trying to track down a gray wolf, who's already made an attempt on one of their team member's lives. Finn believes Hunter will be targeted next, only to discover Hunter is off with his mate on a honeymoon, and he fears Hunter’s sister is in grave danger. But the former SEAL soon learns protecting the unpredictable sexy she-wolf is a mission and a half and protecting her isn’t all he wants to do.

Review: Ohhhhhhhhhhh Finn...I don't know if there are any proper words to describe you. I adore you and you aren't even my favorite alpha. I enjoyed getting to know Finn very much. He was a joy to read. Meara was a treat as well. I knew she would be fun. After reading Hunter's book I've been wanting hers. Of course she had her moments when I wanted to smack her, but she was great for the most part. Her attempt at finding a mate was cute. She was obviously ready to settle down which I completely understand. I was wondering if Finn was going to actually grow some balls when I was reading A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing. Lucky he proved his muchness so he definitely gets a thumbs up from me. The story was excellent of course. It has mystery, action, and of course the twists were wonderful. I always enjoy returning to this series because they're all very well done. I especially like this story because you think you know who the bad guy is, but I highly doubt that you're right. It's a clever, but sad situation. Bah I've said enough. No spoilers in this review! Just go and read this series!

5 howls

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Summary: Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival

Review: I haven't read too many Dystopia's, but The Hunger Games is pretty incredible. Katniss is one of those female characters I'm proud to look up to. She's strong and she has a great heart. She isn't my favorite, but she's still a great character. She's a bit slow when it comes to guys and such nonsense, but in her world it truly is nonsense. My favorite character is Prim. She's kind and innocent. She is the one thing that Katniss would do anything for. That is quite clear as you read THG. Gale is a good character as well. He's honest. He doesn't hold back what's on his mind. I enjoy reading his parts in books because he has so few, but he has a good mind. Peeta is a nice character as well. He's crafty, and smart. This series certainly has a great selection of characters. The story is sad though. For such great characters, they have a very hard life. Their world is not something I would want for America. Ever. Watching Katniss as she has to kill other people is heartbreaking. Especially because you already have seen the love she has in her heart. I completely recommend this book. It's brilliant.

5 howls

New in the Den (IMM 28)

From Kristi at The Story Siren

Bought:

Why is it important that I bought Prisoner of Azkaban? Well, because it's the e-book! Yes! If you haven't heard, you can buy the Harry Potter books for e-readers now! I thought about starting with Sorcerer's Stone and going up, but PoA is my favorite and I knew I needed to buy it first.
Already read A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing. <3 That's all I've got to say.
Yep. Got Tohr. I'm in the middle of Payne/Manny's book, but this one is coming up next.