Desperately Seeking Suzanna - Elizabeth Michels

Sue Green just wanted one night to be the pretty one. But a few glasses of champagne and one wild disguise later, she’s in some serious trouble. Who knew the devastatingly handsome face of Lord Holden Ellis would get in the way of her foot? And how exactly did all that high-kick dancing start in the first place? At least she blamed it all on her new persona—Suzanna. So Society’s most eligible bachelor will never find out the truth.

All Holden wants is the truth. Who was that vixen who seduced him so thoroughly, then disappeared? The only one who seems to have any answers about Suzanna is Miss Sue Green. She’s promised to help him find his mystery woman, but in truth she’s not being all that helpful. And in truth, the more time Holden spends with Sue—witty, pretty, and disarmingly honest—the more he realizes he may have found exactly what he’s been looking for all along…

My thoughts:

I do confess that most of the time this premise does annoy me. Boy meets girl, girl wears a mask, there is kissing and she disappears. When they do meet again, and talk he does not know it's her. I would think at least the voice would do it. Oh well it does bring the drama...

Sue is invisible and with the worst mother ever. Trust me, I want to strangle her mother. What a wicked old cow! I am still angry at her and I just want to see Sue walk up to her and give her the finger. Ok ok, moving on. Sue was so sweet, nice, she wanted to do things, wanted to paint, but if you have someone holding you down it's hard.

Holden is a rake. And he becomes obsessed with Suzanna after what they have shared. There is a secret in his life that I can't tell, but it does bring some danger.

When they meet again they find each other amusing..sort of. She argues with him. But he does one thing later on that made me want to kick him. Bad Holden. Still it all ended happily, of course ;)

Conclusion:

Oh and there was an intriguing character in it that I hope is in the next book.

Cover

ok

Paperback, 342 pages
Published March 4th 2014 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Tricks of the Ton #2
Historical romance
for review

The Moon Sisters - Therese Walsh

A beautiful coming-of-age novel about two sisters on a journey to forgive their troubled mother, with a sheen of almost-magical realism that overlays a story about the love of a family, and especially between sisters.

Therese Walsh's poignant and mesmerizing novel is a moving tale of family, love, and the power of stories. After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz are figuring out how to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia, who can see sounds, taste words, and smell sights, is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to say her final goodbyes and lay their mother's spirit to rest.

Though they see things very differently, Jazz is forced by her sense of duty to help Olivia reach her goal. Bitter and frustrated by the attention heaped on her sunny sister whose world is so unique, Jazz is even more upset when they run into trouble along the way and Olivia latches to a worldly train-hopper. Though Hobbs warns Olivia that he's a thief who shouldn't be trusted, he agrees to help with their journey. As they near their destination, the tension builds between the two sisters, each hiding something from the other, and they will finally be forced to face everything between them and decide what is really important.

My thoughts:

There was a bittersweet sadness to this book. It's about loss, death and moving through the stages of grief. In one way or another.

Oliva is 18, Jazz 22. Their mother just killed herself. Their father started drinking. Olivia can smell colors and stuff, and has almost blinded herself looking at the sun. Jazz, thinks she is the only normal one. They are now a messed up family who can't bare to deal with the loss.

The story is told with flashbacks and with the story of course moving forward. It's also told in a letters their mother wrote. The book is about a journey Olivia sets out on, to get her mother's ashes to a special place her mother never dared to go. And Jazz goes after her.

They move through their sorrow, they get angry, they find closure. The journey also take a darker turn, who can you really trust? Something is hidden in the shadows and we get that story too.

I know it sounds like it's so sad, but it was not sad at all. It was life and moving on, the sad part was already over.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed this book, and I liked how it showed grief, and love.

Cover

works

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: March 4th 2014 by Crown
Fiction,
For review

Audio Sunday: How to train your dragon + Bloodring

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a truly extraordinary Viking hero known throughout Vikingdom as "the Dragon Whisperer" ... but it wasn't always so. Travel back to the days when the mighty warrior was just a boy, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. Can Hiccup capture a dragon and train it without being torn limb from limb? Join the adventure as the small boy finds a better way to train his dragon and becomes a hero!

My thoughts:

Not much to say really. I listened to the audio and it was nothing like the movie...well they were vikings and there were dragons. 

David Tennant narrated the book and I did enjoy listening to his voice, but then who wouldn't? ;) He was the sole reason for me listening.

The story itself was also fun as Hiccup tried to train his whiny dragons and then something BIG happens, and then something BIGGER. So a nice world all in all.

Oh and it was like 3,5 hours long, awesome.

cover

eh

Audiocd, 208 pages
Published February 12th 2004 by Hodder Children's Books (first published 2003)
How to Train Your Dragon #1
MG / fantasy

No one thought the apocalypse would be like this. The world didn't end. And the appearance of seraphs heralded three plagues and a devastating war between the forces of good and evil. More than a hundred years later, the earth has plunged into an ice age, and seraphs and demons fight a never-ending battle while religious strife rages among the surviving humans.

Thorn St. Croix is no ordinary neomage. All the others of her kind, mages who can twist leftover creation energy to their will, were gathered together into Enclaves long ago. There, they live in luxurious confinement, isolated from humans and exploited for their magic. When Thorn's powers nearly drive her insane, she escapes - and lives as a fugitive, disguised as a human, channeling her gifts for war into stone-magery and the pacific tasks of jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, shows up on her doorstep and accuses her of kidnapping her ex-husband, she retrieves her weapons and risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death....

My thoughts:

I am torn over this one. It was good, but audio...it worked but if I did something else for a second then I got confused. I am sure I missed a ton of things in this book.

But the premise was so cool. Angels came down, killed humans and destroyed shit. Then suddenly they fought alongside humans cos evil spawns came forth. But the cool thing was, were they really angels, or aliens? Ohhh. 

What was left was a post apocalyptic world in an ice age. So the world was truly good.

Thorn, the heroine is a neo mage...would have wanted more stuff there. Anyway, she always seemed to be in heat. People showed up, ugh this is why I need short audios! I know 12 is not long, but too long for me.

I would rather read the next book than listen.

Cover

meh

Audio, 12ish
Published November 7th 2006 by Roc Fantasy
Rogue Mage #1
Post apocalyptic /urban fantasy /sci-fi

Mishel Reviews: Candra's freedom - AJ Nuest

Series or Stand Alone: The Golden Key Chronicles, book two

Release Date:  December 2013 

Publisher: HarperImpulse 

Pages:  88

Author Site:  http://ajnuest.com/

My Rating: 4/5 

Source: Received for review from author/publisher

Cover: Pretty and goes well with the first book cover.

The key would unlock his future and the safety of his kingdom, but he never imagined the sorceress would unlock his heart…

Lost in a world she doesn't recognize, Rowena struggles to find her place.

Yet her abilities with a blade and the loyalty of a fierce falcon don't discourage the heated advances of the handsome Prince Caedmon, and the connection between them seems much deeper than her troubled heart can recall.

Review:

Candra’s Freedom is a tad bit shorter than Rowena’s Key, the first book in the Golden Key Chronicles, but it still packs quite a punch! Even with its minor faults it’s still a quick, satisfying and addictive read. 

I’d highly recommend reading the first book before starting this one to really appreciate Rowena as a character. After Prince Caedmon reluctantly leaves her side, Rowena is left on her own with no memories of her life, who she is, or what is happening. She is pretty much forced into a fierce and independent transition in order to survive. Although she is staying at the castle, royal intrigue has kept her at arm’s length from everyone around her. It’s difficult to know who to trust and who can be turned to for help so Rowena relies on herself. In the two years since Caedmon has been gone she has furiously trained with the royal guard to become an independent, respected, and strong-willed warrior. Her only desire is to escape her confinement and live away from the scrutiny and confusion of her current life at the castle. 

Prince Caedmon was whisked away shortly after the events in book one. He was actually taken captive during an important mission that involved Rowena’s move into Caedmon’s realm. I’m trying to be ridiculously vague in order to prevent any spoilers of the previous book or this one, so bear with me. With the disappearance of Rowena’s memories of everything so went her recognition and love for Caedmon. So when he finally escapes and returns to his kingdom he soon realizes that Rowena is no longer the sweet and docile woman he left. He must tread carefully in order to regain Rowena’s trust and hopefully her love. Caedmon also knows that his capture had nothing to do with chance but rather someone’s betrayal. 

There was a lot of action in this installment rather than romance. With Rowena’s shift in personality comes a lot of growth in her character development. I really enjoyed the fighting scenes that show just how much Rowena has had to change in order to survive. But oh how I miss the romance… I’m excited to continue on with the series and see more of Rowena and Caedmon. I’d really like to see some more development on the magical aspect of the key and the kingdom now that it is the current setting of the story.  I would have liked a more fleshed out transition in the beginning of the story since there is a significant time jump. I was also a bit confused on the title, if the name Candra was explained somewhere in the first or second book I completely missed it.  Either way the change in pacing and direction of the story was very much welcomed. I can’t wait to see what book three has in store.