Elemental Secrets - Review

Elemental Secrets by Elle Middaugh

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Release Date: November 11th 2016


Navy brat, Valerie, makes friends at a high school in the secluded mountains of Pennsylvania, only to discover that they have supernatural Elemental Powers, in this YA Fantasy Romance.

“This book is “Avatar: The Last Airbender” meets “X-Men” in a high school.”
– Hey, It Was Free!

“If you like elemental persons, if you like SYFY, if you like YA, this book is for you. If you don’t like any of those, then you are missing out!”
– Kelly’s Nerdy Obsession

Valerie Moore is a beautiful, headstrong girl with below-average social skills and above-average anxiety (including a flair for overanalyzing).
With her mother long deceased and her father recently deployed, she is sent to live with her eccentric aunt in a tiny town nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Being a Navy brat has made her into a bit of a loner, and making friends certainly isn’t her strongest suit—as if the life of a typical teen isn’t hard enough.
Torn between the conflicted heartbreaker next door, the persistent jock at the top, and the rugged college bad boy, Valerie finds it almost impossible to choose just one guy.
Her love life isn’t her only problem, though. She soon discovers she’s not a typical teenager—not by a long shot.
Secrets are revealed about her family, her newfound friends and relationships, and her whole world…
The biggest secret of all is unveiled when Valerie discovers she has Elemental powers, unleashing a rapid chain of irreversible events. 
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I received a copy from YA Bound in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: I love myself a YA fantasy so am always on the hunt for my next favourite series, so I jumped at the chance to read Elemental Secrets. As the first book in Elle Middaugh's Essential Elements series it sets the scene and introduces us to Valerie and her powers.
When Valerie is sent to live with her Aunt she quickly becomes embroiled in more than the just the usual high school drama. Don't get me wrong there's lots of teen angst surrounding Valerie and the big love triangle or square (more on this later). 
It's difficult to discuss the plot without giving much away, but I really enjoyed the elemental powers aspect which had me thinking about the crazy weather we often get here (yes I'm a Brit who loves chatting about the weather). I'm not sure about the Avatar: the Last Airbender & X-Men comparisons but I did see another reviewer refer to the story as being like Captain Planet, which I have to agree with at least partly (now I've got the theme the stuck in my head).
I'm going to be honest and admit that as the story progress I did find Valerie difficult to like at times, especially in the later stages of the story. My initially empathy for her social anxiety and loneliness began to falter and I didn't really know what to do with the developing romance issues. The triangle *ahem* square was a bit much for me at times.

Overall I enjoyed Elemental Secrets. The action is well written and I found myself intrigued by Valerie's situation, I just wish I'd been able to feel this all the time - perhaps it's my age?!

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

Author Spotlight:

Elle Middaugh lives in the Allegheny Mountains outside of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with her wonderful husband and three beautiful children. Most of her time is spent raising kids, writing stories, playing video games, reading, and attempting to keep a clean house. 

She’s a proud Navy wife, a frazzle-brained mother, a fan of health and fitness, a lover of hot tea and iced tea, and a believer in happily ever afters.

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Releases This Week - Dawn Study

Top fav author...
Dawn Study - Soulfinders #3 by Maria V. Snyder

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New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings her Poison Study series to its exhilarating conclusion.

Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond and a family that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.

Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.

With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.

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UK * US


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Reading Spots

All the Bookish Things

I don't know about you but I love to find a comfy spot to snuggle down to read exciting new books & of course my old favourites?! 
I've been on the hunt for a special reading chair for a while now and decided to splurge on this beauty as soon as I saw it...

It cost me a fortune, is basically too large for my room and is a totally random mixture of granny chic and modern kitsch but I freaking love it - It's an awesome reading spot.

Do you have a fav reading chair, snug or spot? Share your pics and I'll add them to the board.

Long Way Home - Review & Excerpt Tour

The highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series is being released on January 31^st! 

LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Pre-order your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don’t miss Violet and Chevy’s story! Check out all of the stops on this awesome tour and be sure to pre-order your copy for the amazing bonus scenes!

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

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Amazon US * Amazon UK * Kobo * BAM * Barnes & Noble * iBooks * IndieBound

 

"An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page."

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series! Grab your copies today!

NOWHERE BUT HERE

WALK THE EDGE

 
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!
What I say: Long Way Home is a little different from the previous two books in Katie McGarry's Thunder Road series because the main characters already know each other. The best way I could think of to describe the story is as a contemporary-YA-coming-of-age-second-chance-romance. Yes it's a bit of a mouthful but it works! Violet and Chevy not only grew up with each other and the MC, but were or are each others first love. The book is full of history and drama...
I'm going to start by sharing my mutual love for both Chevy and Vi. To be honest it's rare for me to like main characters equally but Katie McGarry bowled me over with the awesomeness that is Vi and Chevy.
Vi and Chevy have grown up with the Reign of Terror motorcycle club but have been effected by MC life in different ways. Vi lost her father and no longer trusts the club - she wants to keep her brother and mother as far away from Terror as possible. Chevy is expected to join the club and devote his life to the members. He's torn between club life, his love for Vi and being a normal teenager.
We're faced with a lot of revelations, betrayal and secrets but also love, hope and loyalty. I love the mixture of gritty drama and teen angst. It's worth noting that a lot of dark things happen and so I'm posting a potential trigger warning but not in terms of adult romance - Long Way Home is a YA story but the characters face many adult issues.
I was desperate for Vi and Chevy to resolve their issues and to be able to find a balance together...

4.5 Stars in my Sky!

Pre-order LONG WAY HOME by Katie McGarry, and fill out THIS FORM, to receive three previously unreleased bonus scenes featuring important “firsts” in the lives of your favorite characters from the world of Katie McGarry! Complete the form to register your pre-order at https://wyng.com/campaign/820152. Offer Ends 1/31/17 at 11:59pm EST.

Excerpt:

VIOLET

                  “Your car’s broke.” Chevy glances in my direction again, and there’s a softness in his eyes that I hate and love. It’s the same unguarded look as when we whispered our most intimate thoughts into each other’s ears.

                  I hold his gaze for as long as he can handle. “Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious.”

                  Chevy mimics tipping a hat that isn’t on his head. “My pleasure.”

                  The right side of my mouth edges up. Damn him for being so charming.

                  “Stone,” Chevy says. “Have you made big plans for tomorrow?”

                  “Tomorrow?”

                  “Violet turns eighteen.”

                  Chevy and I had so many plans for eighteen. Spent too many nights in each other’s arms planning out how we were going to celebrate this year. Dinner out of Snowflake. Prom. Laughter with friends. Midnight and dancing on a blanket in our field.

                  “Mom’s mad at Violet and she said we might not do anything because of Violet’s attitude,” Brandon blurts out and he scratches his chin twice. “Violet cut class and the school called Mom to tell her. Mom’s really angry. She yelled. A lot. And Violet wouldn’t yell back. Violet always yells back, but not this time.”

                  Chevy’s adorable smile falls into a frown and it’s really a shame. Brandon looks over at me for confirmation that I’m not mad at him for spilling about my fight with Mom, because I’ve reminded him several times that personal conversations should stay personal, and I step toward him then briefly squeeze my fingers around his wrist.

                  My brother isn’t trying to tattle, he’s nervous being out in the dark and upset over the fight Mom and I had before we left for the game. He has a problem with letting negative emotions go. They circle his brain like vultures do with roadkill.

                  Headlights shine in the distance, and my shoulders relax. Last thing I want to do is get into a discussion with Chevy as to why I didn’t tell Mom that I handed Chevy my note. This has been an awful day, and I’m ready to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed for days, maybe weeks.

                  I step out onto the road, and using the flashlight cell, wave to signal Mom. This isn’t the first time Dad’s car has broken down, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last. Mom has passed us before. Though I’m not convinced those times were a mistake as much as Mom attempting to teach me another lesson of how unsafe I am in the world.

                  Footsteps against the rocks and Chevy eases beside me. The car weaves in and out of the center lane, and my arm hesitates in the air as unease tiptoes through me.

                  Chevy places his hand on my bicep and forces it down. “That’s not your mom’s car.”

                  It’s not. Mom would never drive like that and those aren’t the headlights of a minivan. Those belong to something with some muscle. A scary sixth sense creeps along my skin.

                  Growling engines, then three single beams appear. Motorcycles. Those motorcycles aren’t chasing the car, they’re following. My stomach lurches as I stumble back. Chevy steps forward and he draws his knife out of the sheath.

 

Next stops on the tour:

Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt

BookWorm221 – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of 2 Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt

It's All About the Romance – Excerpt

Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt

Waiting For Wentworth – Excerpt

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 Author Spotlight:


Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, NOWHERE BUT HERE and WALK THE EDGE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

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Released This Week - STAY

Fall in love with Ash & Willow...
STAY - Bleeding Stars (standalone) by A.L. Jackson

From NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson comes the next sexy, gripping Bleeding Stars Stand-Alone Novel… I’m Ash Evans. The life of the party. Hot. Rich. Charismatic. A tattooed rock star with the world at my feet. I burn through women faster than the strike of a match. I’ve embraced my lifestyle and live it to the fullest. Until the day my lifestyle caught up to me. Willow Langston found me at my lowest. Literally. Facedown in a puddle of my own blood. I owe her my life and I have three months to repay that debt. What I never should have done was touch her. Kiss her. Take her to my bed. Love wasn’t supposed to be a part of the equation. I gave up that nasty complication a long damned time ago. Now I want her more than my next breath. But she doesn’t know what I know. Do I leave to protect her? Or can I face my demons and ask her to Stay?

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The Room Mate - Review Blitz

The Room Mate by Kendall Ryan



The last time I saw my best friend’s younger brother, he was a geek wearing braces. But when Cannon shows up to crash in my spare room, I get a swift reality check.

Now twenty-four, he’s broad shouldered and masculine, and so sinfully sexy, I want to climb him like the jungle gyms we used to enjoy. At six-foot-something with lean muscles hiding under his T-shirt, a deep sexy voice, and full lips that pull into a smirk when he studies me, he’s pure temptation.

Fresh out of a messy breakup, he doesn’t want any entanglements. But I can resist, right?

I’m holding strong until the third night of our new arrangement when we get drunk and he confesses his biggest secret of all: he’s cursed when it comes to sex. Apparently he’s a god in bed, and women instantly fall in love with him.

I’m calling bullshit. In fact, I’m going to prove him wrong, and if I rack up a few much-needed orgasms in the process, all the better.

There’s no way I’m going to fall in love with Cannon. But once we start…I realize betting against him may have been the biggest mistake of my life.

 
Buy it here:

Amazon * iBooks * Nook * Kobo * Amazon UK
* Amazon CA * Amazon AU * Paperback

 
 



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  I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: The Room Mate is the first book in Kendall Ryan's shiny and new standalone Roommates series. It's sassy, sweet and naughty.

I laughed my way throughout The Room Mate and really appreciated the lightheartedness of plot and the unfortunate situations Paige and Cannon found themselves in.

I generally find with these type of stories that the focus usually seems to be about a girl and her older brother's best friend, so it made a nice change to have a potential romance between the female MC and her best friend's younger brother.

On the surface Paige has everything sorted; good job, nice flat, awesome friends and cute dog, but in reality she's kind bored and has stagnated. Cannon is no longer her bestie's geeky and annoying younger brother, but instead, a super hot and talented guy who makes Paige swoon and laugh.

Paige is struck by Cannon's confidence and charm, as well as his dedication to his family. Their attraction is instant and the chemistry off the charts hot, but my favourite sections were Paige's inner struggle to resist him by not saying or doing anything inappropriate - which she inevitably fails at.

I'm looking forward to seeing who is up next in the series...

4 Stars in my Sky

Author Spotlight:
 


A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her here for the latest book news, and fun extras

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Preppy: Part Two - Release Blitz

Preppy returns in Preppy Part Two by T.M. Frazier

NOW LIVE!

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Preppy finds himself back in a world he once loved, but no longer recognizes. His dim smile can’t hide his inner turmoil and the people he views as family all suddenly feel like polite strangers.

Except for one person. A girl with dark eyes and even darker hair.

A girl who isn’t even an option.

At least, not anymore.

Dre can’t decide who she’s going to listen to. Her heart, her head, or her body. Because two out of those three things have her heading right back to Logan’s Beach. Closure is what she tells herself she’s seeking, but when she unlocks doors that were never meant to be opened she soon discovers that when it comes to Samuel Clearwater, closure might NEVER be an option.

This is book six in the King Series and the second part of Preppy and Dre's story.

Excerpt:

“Oh yeah?” Preppy asked, taking a step forward, crowding me in, staring deep into my eyes with an intensity that had me biting down hard on my lower lip. “Do YOU like a clean look, Doc? Or do you like it dirty? Beards. Tattoos…scars?”

Yes, I like it dirty. So dirty.

I was stunned into silence. Preppy's proximity was f***ing with my brain, and I was afraid I was going to blurt out something that would dig me a deeper hole than I’d already dug for myself.  I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn’t get the words out. Not like I needed to. Preppy answered for me. “If I remember correctly, you like it dirty. Real f***ing dirty.”

Author Spotlight:

T.M. Frazier is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR best known for her KING SERIES. She was born on Long Island, NY. When she was eight years old she moved with her mom, dad, and older sister to sunny Southwest Florida where she still lives today with her husband and daughter.

When she was in middle school she was in a club called AUTHORS CLUB with a group of other young girls interested in creative writing. Little did she know that years later life would come full circle.

After graduating high school, she attended Florida Gulf Coast University and had every intention of becoming a news reporter when she got sucked into real estate where she worked in sales for over ten years.

Throughout the years T.M. never gave up the dream of writing and with her husband’s encouragement, and a lot of sleepless nights, she realized her dream and released her first novel, The Dark Light of Day, in 2013.

She’s never looked back.

Visit her here for news, information, and appearances.

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