Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?


My Thoughts/Review:

Well. I finally got me a satisfying standalone paranormal, which you should all know, never happens. Well, almost never, anyways. But honestly, I had to love it. "Violet doesn't believe in ghosts...but they believe in her." <--Epic Tagline alert!

I enjoyed it, but it seemed like the author pushed through writer's block several times. She wrote when she didn't feel like it, and you can kind of tell. Sometimes her words flowed together eloquently, and other times they seemed stilted, and slightly off-putting, leaving you wondering how exactly you got to that point in the story. I found myself wondering that several times myself, when the story just lost me.

Other than that certain flaw, this book was terrific. The character's were easy to identify with, the main love interest was entirely swoon-worthy, and the plot had me caught in it. It was set in the 1800's, in England, so that also helped my interest a tad bit. :)

Violet's character was really interesting, because I just couldn't get enough of her 'medium' abilities. I wanted to know why, and how, and who she was seeing, and, just, eep! She was headstrong, and she knew that she didn't want what her mother wanted. She wasn't obsessed with social standing, and she never wanted to be. I wish that there was more I that I could say about Violet, but just remember this: Eep!

Collin, Collin, Collin. He's now my favorite swoon-worthy character. He has stolen my heart. How could I not love a hard-working, full of fire, super-hot Irish man? It' s just not possible! I had to swoon over him, just like any other self-respecting book reviewer....sigh.

The plot had my mind twisted up in ways I had never imagined. I was leaping from thought to thought, trying to figure out who the murderer was. I thought of a million different suspects, bounced around and around from person to person, and I still didn't manage to figure it out. And I was floored by the answer.

All in all, this book kept me wanting to learn more, and needing to know how it ended.
  
Favorite Quote: I was secretly entranced with the idea of a lady novelist. I should dearly love to be one. Or maybe a goblin-fighting pirate queen. It was difficult to choose sometimes.

Guardian(Halflings #2) by Heather Burch

 

Vigilance. The mission to safeguard Nikki Youngblood depends on the fragile alliance of two half-angel, half-human guardians, both struggling with intense feelings for the girl who has been assigned to their care. Mace, steadfast and deeply in love, wants to protect Nikki at all costs, while Raven's loyalty to Nikki finds him advocating for her independence and battling his own darker inclinations. At the same time, Nikki finds it harder and harder to choose between the two heavenly beings she may never have. Dangers intensify, and tensions between Mace and Raven flare as the purpose of their mission becomes clear. Can their defenses hold up to master manipulator Damon Vessler and the powerful secret he holds regarding Nikki's heritage? Can anyone protect Nikki from her true purpose and destiny?

Buy from The Book Depository <--and support future giveaways on this blog!

My Thoughts/Review:

NOOO! I really don't understand why authors think that they need to end everyone of their books with cliff-hangers. It just freaking kills me. They end with a cliff-hanger, and then I have to wait 6 months to 3 years to figure out what happens. So, if you haven't guessed, this book ends on a cliff-hanger.

And I hate it when that happens, because, as I've said before, I have to wait to read about what happens. I guess I'm just more of a standalone kind of girl.

I, for one, think that this series has a serious future, based on the success of the 'Hush, Hush' saga. Nikki isn't similar to the the lead in Hush, Hush, but you know, angels and all that make them similar.

Nikki is headstrong, and full of life and vitality. That is, until the world hits her in a way that she can't recover from. In a way that makes her depressed all the time, and makes her think that she's never worthy of anything that she wants, or needs. She is absolutely beaten down, and it makes her completely different than she was in the last book. In the last book, she was actually kind of annoying, because she wants Mace, then she wants Raven, then she wants Mace. I hate it when a character jumps around, saying that she loves them both, but she can't choose.

She was a little bit like that still, but not near as much. I guess she decided that she was going to try and be faithful to Mace, but she still has time to re-evaluate. I guess that series like this thrive off of love triangles, but sometimes it gets a little old, jumping back and forth from one team to another. And with this series, I can't decide who's team I'm on! Urghh. It's driving me insane.

I guess I can understand that a girl can love two guys at once, but I would say that you can only love love one of them.

I thought that Raven seemed just a little dramatic, instead of the angsty, sorrowful boy that I know the author was going for, and he honestly seems like he's trying to hard to be bad. Mace was still a sweetheart, a protector, and an all around good guy, but I think that he has a little bit of fight running through his veins, based on his character traits.

All in all, I liked this book, and it was fairly good, but we'll have to see where the series goes from here before I make a final decision.

*This book was provided by Netgalley for review.

♠♠♠
Favorite Quote:
A thousand Epic quotes were within this novel, but it won't be released until.......
October 9, 2012

The Musician's Daughter by Susanne Dunlap

Murder and love—from the halls of Vienna’s imperial family to a perilous gypsy camp---


Amid the glamour of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy’s court in 18th-century Vienna, murder is afoot. Or so fifteen-year-old Theresa Maria is convinced when her musician father turns up dead on Christmas Eve, his valuable violin missing, and the only clue to his death a strange gold pendant around his neck. Then her father’s mentor, the acclaimed composer Franz Joseph Haydn, helps her through a difficult time by making her his copyist and giving her insight in to her father’s secret life. It’s there that Theresa begins to uncover a trail of blackmail and extortion, even as she discovers honor—and the possibility of a first, tentative love. Thrumming with the weeping strains of violins, as well as danger and deception, this is an engrossing tale of murder, romance, and music that readers will find hard to forget.


My Thoughts/Review:

For the first few chapters of this book, I was a tad bit worried. The characters weren't very inspiring, the story was just meh, and of course, I was just bored. Meanwhile, I'm reading, and I'm thinking to myself, "What did I expect from a historical book that started off with a murder?". I expected a lot. And for the first few chapters, I just wasn't getting it. It started out too slowly, and I just didn't feel the need to continue reading, because I felt like I was just skimming the words.

But I continued. And it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. All of the sudden, it was like the author finally fell into her 'happy writing place', and the story just got better. The character's suddenly seemed more identifiable, the plot sky-rocketed, and, overall, the story-line definitely improved. It was actually kind of weird, but in a good way.

Theresa was a terrific character! She was headstrong and brave, but she somehow also managed to be extremely naive. I guess that's what makes her interesting. She was always shocked at the turn of events, but she managed to come at them all with a new twist of her own! Oh, I like her. She was freaking awesome!

A few things about the plot were a bit unoriginal, but I found that I enjoyed those bits just as much as the original bits. The amazing thing about this book was the character relationships. There was a tad of romance, but it was mostly just friendships that were extremely satisfying. I was worried for a bit, because I thought that there might be a love triangle coming up, but I was wrong. You can't imagine how happy I was to read a book without a love triangle.

All in all, this book surprised me. I didn't expect plot, amazing characters, and, overall, superb writing style. It had a slow start, but it was well worth the wait.

Favorite Quote: "It is a curious thing," she murmured at last, "to touch history. Looking into the past is very much like seeing the ages to come." ************************ I took notes! Do you think it improved my review quality, or not? (P.S. Have you read this book? Feel free to agree or disagree with my opinion!)