Bond & Benevolence: Good Radical

Warning!

This book contains spoilers for Bond & Benevolence: Good Raider if you haven't read it go read it. NOW!!!

A Brief Summary: When we last saw Samantha she had been kidnapped while in Darfur now she is being held captive and Ophelia and Mrs. Doyle are trying to cope with the loss. However, they're more focused on getting her back. But getting her back isn't going to be near as easy as they had hoped.

My Review: What can I say this book was just as captivating as the first. As in the first book the story splits perspectives between Samantha and Ophelia. With this being primarily from Ophelia's prospective.

In this instalment of the story you get to see how someone who is so close to a person who has caused incredible destruction copes. How their life is all about survival. Getting through the next day.

You also see Ophelia growing up at an alarming rate. Training to help find her sister. Her family had been shattered before but now it's been splintered and she's clinging to what she has left.

This book was amazing, and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here.

I received this book courtesy of the author in exchange for my review which I freely and honestly give.

The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman

A Brief Summary: Leo never believed time travel could be real until his sees a time machine in action, and and he's in it! In his quest for the time machine he is lead to The New-York Circulating Material Repository where he discovers the Wells Bequest a special collection that is full of objects from science fiction books, such as shrink rays, submarines, oh and a time machine. When a threat is made Leo and his friend Jaya must travel to 1895 to meet Nikola Tesla and to prevent an invention of his from being stolen. Full of adventure and excitement this book will capture your interest and keep you spellbound from start to begin.

My Review: This book is a companion novel to The Grimm Legacy, not a direct sequel. All that really means is it doesn't directly follow the first book, it's in the same universe but not the same story with the same characters.I really enjoy companion novels, you can read them without knowing anything about the main story. It may have references and you'll understand some of the inside knowledge better if you've read the main story but it's not necessary.

Anyway this book was amazing. Time travel in the hands of two teenagers can't possibly be boring right? You get references to science fiction legends including H.G. Wells,  and Jules Vern, descriptions of amazing technology that was featured in their books, that people in this universe can access.

I also enjoyed that Nickolas Tesla was given props in this book. He is one of the most talented inventors who have ever lived and is just now getting the recognition that he deserves. It's nice to see someone show him as the brilliant inventor that he is.

This book is aimed at a younger audience due to the young age of the protagonists. However someone who's slightly older will also really enjoy this book and understand some of the references to famous books better.

Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash

A Brief Summary: After the loss of his beloved wife Allison Paul struggles to find some sort of normal. The night terrors he's started to have, shared by his son Jesse. One of the first houses he takes on after his wife's passing is Stillwell manor, his friend Craig's childhood home. This home is going to be a tough sell due to the fact the most recent owners committed a murder suicide. Along with the fact that Stillwell has long assumed to be haunted. A haunting that may be connected to Paul's dreams of Allison/

My Review: This is my third book I've read by Michael Cash, and he still blows me away with his talent. The prologues draw you in, the main story keeps you captivated, and the epilogue ties up all of those pesky loose ends.

A favorite part of mine of all of Michael's books is that fact that he weaves past and present together. Allison and her distant relative tied together to create a powerful story. I really enjoyed all of the characters, they're diverse and well developed.

Michael Phillip Cash is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I received this book from Brittney Bass (Michael's publicist) in exchange for my free and honest review.

Since You've Been Gone by Mary Jennifer Payne

A Brief Summary: Edie has spent the last five years of her life running from her past. From town to town, now to an entirely new country. Throughout this time the only constant she has had is her mom, but now her mom is missing. Alone in England, she can't call the police or they'll alert her father, the reason they've been on the run for so long. Will she be able to find her mother?

My Review: Not going to lie when I saw the title I may have started humming Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. Which oddly paralleles this book. Anyway this is an extremely quick read. It's pretty good, but I would've liked it to be a teeny bit longer just for some more details. I liked Edie, but she didn't develop too much over the story.

Also I wasn't in love with how it ended. For lack of a better way to put it, it was unsatisfying. After a grand search the climax is a little anticlimactic. A story that had so much potential feels rushed and underdeveloped. I'm slightly disappointed but the book at least made a valiant effort.

This book is set to release on February 17 of 2015 you can pre-order your copy from amazon now.

I recieved this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

Tainted Blood by Karen Greco

A Brief Summary: Nina is a witch/vampire hybrid, and a member of an elite branch of the Department of Defense, the Blood Ops. While on what should have been a routine mission Nina and her partner Frankie encounter a vampire with Opium poisoning, something that can actually kill vampires. Now in a race against time they need to find patient zero before the infected vamps can cause any more chaos. While trying to find patient zero the mayor; Bertrand, a closet demon, comes to Nina and Frankie with a job that will end up being more tied up with their current mission then they ever thought possible.

My Review:
This is book two of the Hell's Belle series. As I have a tendency to I dropped into the series in the second book... Oops? Anyway as someone who jumps into the middle of the series I can tell you that you'll be able to figure out what's going on pretty quickly. Personally I grew to care about Nina, Casper, and Frankie extremely quickly. Max well he's just not my type I guess.

To me Tainted Blood has it all; humor, fantasy, mystery and a little bit of romance. It's an extremely well written story, that makes you care about the characters and want to know what happens next in the series.

After a major cliffhanger of an ending I'm going to have to read the next book just so I can figure out what happens.

I recieved this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

A Brief Summary: Taran has always wanted to be a hero but he's going to learn that being a hero is a lot harder than it looks. Along with a rag tag bunch of  misfits he searches for Hen Wen an oracular pig, and travels to Castle Darthyl to warn the king that his enemies are massing and he is on the brink of war.

My Review:
I received this entire series from my wonderful boyfriend for my birthday. He's learned that books are a surefire way to my heart. What an amazing guy :D

Anyway onto the book! I was interested in this series initially because of the movie The Black Cauldron which was loosely adapted  from this series.

From searching for a oracular pig, leading a band of misfits, to making, sometimes costly, mistakes you see Taran grow-up. He starts as kind of an idiot with no common sense, to a leader.

I can't wait to read the rest of the series and see how he develops further.

The Fifth Vertex by Kevin Hoffman

A Brief Summary: On what was to be the worst day of his young life Ursa's world gets turned on its head. Being branded a culled, a non-warrior in Kest is akin to a death sentence, and that is Ursa's fate. He has failed the gauntlet, he decides to take his own life rather than to bear the shame of the mark of the culled. However this attempt wakens an ancient power within him, that may be exactly what is needed to save his world from an ancient evil that threatens to destroy the Vertices, and with them the barriers between the worlds.

My Review:
Loved this book, I loved it so much. From Ursa being a gentle giant, to Ciliax being a good, but slightly power hungry blood mage, to Goodwyn being the master fighter with a secret all his own. A brand new epic fantasy series that will draw readers young and old.

Honestly I didn't read the blurb well enough to know that Ursa was deaf from the beginning. It took awhile to figure out because it isn't a huge deal. The author chose to make it just a part of Ursa rather then define him with it, a choice that I really appreciate.

I also enjoy how you learn a lot about a couple of different cultures from the Kest, where Ursa and Goodwyn are from, to the Beine, a dwarf-like race. The author condenses a lot of traditions and history of these regions into a side part of a wonderful book.

The next book in this series can't be released soon enough, I want to know what happens next.

I recieved this book from NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.