Review: The Alchemists of Loom

Author Elise Kova

Format e-ARC

Print Length 380 pages

Publisher Keymaster Press

Published January 10, 2017

Her vengeance. His vision.

Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds’ resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn’t a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer turned thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors.

Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family’s house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons’ society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King’s assassins.

When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go.

He offers her the one thing Ari can’t refuse: A wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom. 

My Opinion

Years ago dragons came down to the Loom and took over. They decided who lived and who died, they organized the people based on areas and those born into those areas had to pass a set of test. To fail the test meant certain death. The Alchemist of Loom begins with a heist, performed beautifully by the White Wraith. The White Wraith’s identity is known by two, and they aren’t telling anyone else. During the heist the thief discovers a dragon who makes a deal take him to the Alchemists and he will grant the White Wraith something. It was too good of a deal to pass up. Only later does the thief find out what the dragon is being hunted by the dragon king.

Ari is the White Wraith, born of a time before the dragons. She remembers the world the way it was, the way it should be. This causes a lot of animosity between her and the dragon Cvareh. Ari keeps her distance from others, except for maybe Florence, her apprentice. She is mathematical, precise and tries to keep emotional entanglements to a minimum. She has been hurt in the past and there was never much closer.

Cvareh is the brother of the ruler the Dragon house of Xin. He should not have been able to take something of the kings from Nova. He should not have been able to escape the Riders, the dragon king’s assassins. Yet, he did and as luck would have it he found the White Wraith. Who is not what he or the rest of the world expected. Cvareh is open-minded, willing to sacrifice himself for the better good and for the most part even tempered. (Although he does have his moments.)

A romance may be a brewing although one can never been too sure. Ari and Cvareh spend a lot of the book learning to trust each other. A task at times that is extremely difficult. The secrets that they keep hurt their growing trust instead of helping it.

The Alchemists of Loom is an adrenaline inducing adventure filled rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Both Ari and Cvareh are heroes that you can rally behind. Florence ends up being the glue that holds them together.

My Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Favorite Quote “And because I want to know why I can’t seem to stop thinking about you at every turn.”

Other People

Florence- Ari’s apprentice

Leona- Commander of the Riders

Petra- Cvareh’s sister

Yveun Dono- Dragon King

Sophie-Vicar, unsure of her

Book Trailer Saturday (46) Remember Yesterday

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sight...

The sequel to the sci-fi hit Forget Tomorrow is a twisting, turning roller-coaster ride—the perfect sci-fi futuristic read.

Seventeen-year-old Jessa Stone is the most valuable citizen in Eden City. Her psychic abilities could lead to significant scientific discoveries -- if only she'd let TechRA study her. But after they kidnapped and experimented on her as a child, cooperating with the scientists is the last thing Jessa would do. 

But when she discovers the past isn't what she assumed, Jessa must join forces with budding scientist Tanner Callahan to rectify a fatal mistake made ten years ago. She'll do anything to change her past -- even if it means aligning herself with the enemy she swore to defeat.

Swoon Thursday (45) Kill Without Shame

The fabulous girls over at The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme. Here's how it works.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON.

What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. 

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog! I want to know & so do the gals at YABound.A Bound created this super HOT meme. 

"When I saw you collapse I thought I'd lost you." He pressed a hard, almost punishing kiss to her lips. "Christ."

She instinctively found herself trying to pull out of tight grip. "Lucas," she breathed.

He gave her another kiss, this one softer... a gentle persuasion that made her shiver with anticipation.

"Just let me hold you," he huskily pleaded against her lips.

Kill Without Shame Kindle Location 2231

Dang Mia has Lucas begging.....

Waiting on Wednesday (45) Fate of Flames

Hey y'all, thanks so much for stopping by my WoW!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Four girls with the power to control the elements and save the world from a terrible evil must come together in the first epic novel
in a brand-new series.

When Phantoms—massive beasts made from nightmares and darkness—suddenly appeared and began terrorizing the world, four girls, the Effigies, each gained a unique power to control one of the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Since then, four girls across the world have continually fought against the Phantoms, fulfilling their cosmic duty. And when one Effigy dies, another girl gains her power as a replacement.

But now, with technologies in place to protect the world’s major cities from Phantom attacks, the Effigies have stopped defending humanity and, instead, have become international celebrities, with their heroic feats ranked, televised, and talked about in online fandoms.

Until the day that New York City’s protection against the Phantoms fails, a man seems to be able to control them by sheer force of will, and Maia, a high school student, unexpectedly becomes the Fire Effigy.

Now Maia has been thrown into battle with three girls who want nothing to do with one another. But with the first human villain that the girls have ever faced, and an army of Phantoms preparing for attack, there isn’t much time for the Effigies to learn how to work together.

Can the girls take control of their destinies before the world is destroyed forever?

Why I am Waiting?

An elemental book! It is an elemental book! It has been a while since I read a good elemental book and I so need one.

Teaser Tuesday (45) The Alchemists of Loom

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"She's as mortal as you or I! She only dons that illusion because it suits her."

"You think I'm not aware of that!" he snarled. 

Florence looked at him in surprise. "You think I am not aware that she is just a woman underneath that white coat? I assure you, I am painfully, frustratingly, confusingly aware."

The Alchemists of Loom Kindle Location 3103

It looks like the White Wraith has gotten under that dragon's skin. The real question is what is he going to do about it?

Some Books I Still Want.....

Sometimes there are books that you just want for no other reason than to have.  They could be a book that hasn't released yet, or on that has and you haven't gotten yet.  Regardless though they are a book that you want.  Here is a list of a few of my wants... some already released, others are dropping a long time from now.  Either way the desire is strong.

How could I not want this one?

I read the first one in 2014 and so yeah, three years I have been waiting on this one.  If she every releases another on in the Grey Wolf series I am so there as well.

Truthwitch is one of my favorite reads of the year.  It is what got me reading fantasy again, I have high hopes for the sequel

This is a series ender which is bittersweet, still waiting for it like mad.

The next book in The Sentinels series, this was the last one released in May but I kinda just need to know what is going on with Wolfe.

This one was released in June and the second book in the series is slated for March.....  It feels so far away.

This one just released this month but I kinda need to know where my favorite vampire is trying to send my favorite fire starter.

With the extra stories in this one how can any fan resist?

.

Review: The Bad Boy Bargain

Author Kendra C. Highley

Format e-ARC

Print Length 217 pages

Publisher Entangled: Crush

Published Nov. 14th, 2016

Baseball player Kyle Sawyer has many labels: bad boy, delinquent, ladies’ man, fearless outfielder… Only one of them is actually true. But then sweet ballet dancer Faith Gladwell asks him to help wreck her reputation, and everything goes sideways.

Faith knows a thing or two about love, and what she had with her cheating jerk of an ex wasn’t it. When he starts spreading rumors about her being an Ice Queen, Faith decides it’s time to let a little bad into her life.

Lucky for her, Kyle Sawyer—dark, dangerous, totally swoonworthy Kyle Sawyer—is landscaping her backyard over Spring Break. Shirtless. And if she can convince him to play along, “dating” Kyle will silence the rumors.

But Faith’s plan threatens to expose Sawyer’s biggest secret of all…and that’s a risk he’s not willing to take.

My Opinion

Kyle was bullied pretty bad in middle school by a boy named Cam. So the summer between 8th and 9th grade he decided to do something about it. It does help that he grew like two feet that summer and gained an extra 50 lbs. So when 9th grade started so did his bad boy reputation. Other boys wanted to be him, all the girls wanted to date him. He just kept doing his thing on the baseball field and worked his side job on the weekend as a landscaper.

Faith is a dancer, one who spends a lot of time at practice. She is dating a guy name Cam but is about to end things with him. Cam can tell that Faith is about to dump him and instead puts himself in the position to be found with another girl at a party. Faith dumps him publically and he declares that she is an ice queen. This is something that Faith doesn’t want to have spreading around and so she comes up with a plan. It helps that her momma just hired Kyle to fix their backyard.

Faith is a sweet girl, one who knows something isn’t adding up with Kyle’s reputation. She puts her worries aside so that she can fix her tattered on. This is the one thing that bothered me- she wasn’t willing to be known as an ice queen that cares about who she messes around with but instead was okay with people thinking that she was a sex kitten? I didn’t really understand that part but I went with it because teenagers can be a bit on the dramatic side. 

I liked Faith and Kyle both separately. Together they were just adorable. The fact that he watched an old musical to impress her impressed me. Faith’s parents are very much a part of her life and so that was a nice change from previous contemporaries. Her best friend Violet, and Kyle’s grandpa are literally icing on this sweet cake of a story.

The Bad Boy Bargain is a lovable read that will entertain you for a few hours. 

My Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Favorite Quote “I pull out all the steps when I’m aiding and abetting a revenge-seeking ex-girlfriend.”

Other People

Violet- Faith’s bestie

Grandpa- Kyle’s papa

Book Trailer Saturday (45) Leopard's Fury

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sight...

A ruthless criminal unleashes his most feral desires in the new Leopard novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wild Cat.

Passion melts the will of an ice-cold criminal when he meets the one woman who can tame the beast inside him.

Leopard’s Fury

With her own bakery in San Antonio, Evangeline Tregre made a new life far from the brutal lair of shifters she was born into. Though she is all too aware of her leopard-shifter blood, she never felt the sensation of a wild animal stirring inside her. Not until Alonzo Massi walked into her bakery. The powerful shifter is as irresistible as he is terrifying, but his icy demeanor tells her to keep her distance.

Alonzo knows better than to let himself get involved with someone like Evangeline. She doesn’t deserve the type of danger that follows him, or the threat of his Amur leopard. But even with his lean muscle and iron will, Alonzo isn’t strong enough to stay away from the one woman who can make him feel at peace. And when their secret lives draw a mortal threat, Alonzo unleashes the feral passion he keeps pent up inside himself.

Review: Infinity

Author Jus Accardo

Format e-ARC

Print Length 320 pages

Publisher Entangled: Teen

Published Nov. 1, 2016

There are three things Kori knows for sure about her life:

One: Her army general dad is insanely overprotective.

Two: The guy he sent to watch her, Cade, is way too good-looking.

Three: Everything she knew was a lie.

Now there are three things Kori never knew about her life:

One: There’s a device that allows her to jump dimensions.

Two: Cade’s got a lethal secret.

Three: Someone wants her dead.

My Opinion

Kori is a teenage girl who is missing and grieving for her mom. In her grief, she does something that causes her to get picked up by the local sherrif. Her daddy an army general is about to leave for a mission and so sends two guys Private Cade and Recruit Noah to watch over Kori while is away. She of course sneaks out and is attacked by a strange guy that seems to know her family. Yet she has never seen him before. Soon Kori’s world is turned upside down.

Kori is a typical teen who is going through a bad spell. Her mother’s death has had a big impact on both her and her dad. Neither knowing how to act they both ended up disconnecting a little from each other. The appearance of soldiers to watch over her is nothing new, yet these two don’t act like normal soldiers. Circumstance has Kori finding out that they are from a parallel universal, and that there are many out there.

Kori as a bit of sass to her, yet not too much. She keeps her head in high stake situations and is willing to help out when needed. She knows when a bad situation is bad and tries to calculate how to turn it around. Cade is a sweet guy who is a bit confused. I get why he is confused but I will not tell you as that would be a HUGE spoiler. I just wish that it didn’t have to be the way it is. 

Kori and Cade along with Noah have to stop the universe jumping bad guy. There is something about him that has Kori questioning how he turned bad- girl has some great instincts. Noah’s role in everything is well- again that would be a spoiler.

Infinity is a book that has an interesting concept. The ending lends itself for a sequel one in which I am looking forward to. I am not sure how I feel about where things leave with Kori, Cade and Noah hopefully the next book will help me in that regard.

My Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Favorite Quote “Sometimes questions are better left unanswered.”

Other People

Noah- other solider

Dylan- Cade’s brother

Swoon Thursday (44) Falling Kingdoms

The fabulous girls over at The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme. Here's how it works.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON.

What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. 

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog! I want to know & so do the gals at YABound.A Bound created this super HOT meme. 

"Not only did I fail to keep you safe, but I don't have the right objectivity anymore. You've come to mean more to me than the daughter of the king. Such a short time... you've come to mean

everything to me."

Cleo's breath caught "Everything?"

Falling Kingdoms page 287

I wasn't going to start this series. I had avoided it for a while and then someone had to go on and on about it which caused me to start it. I won't share who the swoon is with, there are several guys in the book but dang Cleo can this one take your breath away.

Waiting on Wednesday (44) Queen of Fire

Hey y'all, thanks so much for stopping by my WoW!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Veena Tarwen is a mole. After a brilliantly orchestrated public
display of her rare power over fire, she was summoned by the ruling Houses of Vhalka and made to enroll in the Mage Academy to become their perfect little soldier, in other words a pawn. She smiled in front of the nobles and appeared subservient while behind them, she plotted their downfall and leaked important secrets to the rebellion. At the Academy, she meets the enigmatic son of the Supreme Ruler, Torren Elton, who throws her off balance. He ignites feelings within her she never expected to have. She struggles with juggling her unique new friendships, pressure from the Court, spying on the nobles and her blossoming feelings for Torren, If she wants to survive and claim back her throne, Veena shall have no choice but to become the Queen Of Fire.

Why I am Waiting?

This one just looks good! A solider a double agent who likes those that she is spying on. Sounds like fun.

Teaser Tuesday (44) The Bad Boy Bargain

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Thanks for opening my door."

The grin he gave her sent goose bumps racing up her arms.

"I pull out all the stops when I'm adding and abetting a revenge-seeking ex-girlfriend."

That wasn't exactly the vibe she was getting, and she couldn't decide whether to be concerned or intrigued. Was he trying to seduce her for real? Or was simply a great actor.

The Bad Boy Bargain Kindle Location 920

Faith is the sweet girl next door and Kyle is well Kyle. I like him more than her, once you read the story you will know why.