Release Date: January 31st, 2012
Genre:  Romance, Paranormal
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 423
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Series: Companion to Austenland
Summary:

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

Blurb: Shannon is as hilarious as ever, but Midnight in Austenland lives up to its name in that it's certainly darker than its predecessor.

Review: This book had everything I love about Shannon's books. It was witty, hilariously funny, and the personal growth that Charlotte experiences was even more wonderful than Jane's in the first Austenland. Seriously, at the end I think I loved Charlotte 10 million times more than Jane, and I love Jane to pieces!

I especially loved how this book had so much meat! If you're a big Shan-fan like me, then you know that Austenland is (quite-lovingly) described as froth. Well this book is the big dense whipped-cream froth on top of hot chocolate with cinnamon! Austenland is primarily a romance, but this book is most certainly a mystery first and foremost which adds fabulous spice to the romance. How cool is that?!  I didn't go in expecting a mystery, so it was fun to really get sucked into it. It was a cool mystery too. I loved who the villain ended up being, and who Charlotte ended up being with. What an AWESOME twist!

However, this is the first time I haven't given a Shannon book 5 flowers, that's because this was the first time that I've felt like I couldn't fully appreciate one of Shannon's adult books. With Austenland it was easy to forget how old Jane was because she was still single and dating, and I'm still single and dating. With The Actor and the Housewife the characters were literally IN MY WORLD (or state at least), and it was easy to relate to Becky and everything that happened around her because they were things I was familiar with.

In this book... I don't know. Maybe a teen of divorced parents might relate to it better? I've always counted myself lucky to have almost NO experience with divorce. And Charlotte's back stories just made me sad, unlike Jane's which just made me laugh. So even though I LOVED it, there were times where I thought the real meat of the story was going over my head. I really felt like it's meant for adults or those with some experience with divorce. Not single 20-somethings living in a happy bubble. Perhaps I shall try it again when I'm an adult. What's that? 20-somethings are technically adults? Pish posh.

Oh! Disclaimer! When I say "meant for adults" I don't mean there's any "graphic" content. There's very minimal profanity, and it never goes beyond kissing. A teen definitely could read this.

But I must admit. I think my favorite line was (some profanity, highlight to view) "I will go mama bear on your ass." I don't like profanity, but this made me do a breakfast club fist-pump into the air. Go Charlotte! I truly loved her, even if I couldn't relate to her.

P.S. If you'd like a review from someone who wasn't bothered by this un-relate-ability thing, you should check out Emily's review here. I especially love (and totally agree) with this part of her review:

If you are a fan of the first novel, you'll really enjoy this one. However, I doubt that this companion will persuade any non-believers. Nor do I think it is meant to. ... Charlotte's story begins sadly, but in a very honest way that I think many women will relate with. And though there is fun and frivolity, I was also pleased that Charlotte grew very significantly as a character throughout the book.

~From Emily's review of Midnight In Austenland on Emily's Reading Room

Man. This is one of those moments where I get super-jealous of other reviewers and their ability to articulate things far better than me. Because GAH! this review was hard to write. I hope I made it clear that my issues with the book are because of PERSONAL things, not because of the book itself. I still believe that Shannon can do no wrong. This book just showed me that she isn't just writing books for me (I know, shocker, right?).



*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.

It's finally back! Each and every month on Squeaky Books I feature 6-8 upcoming releases. You vote for the ones you are excited about via this form. At the beginning of the next month, the novel with the greatest amount of votes will be given away. Fun times, eh? You can vote for the January books from January 10th – January 31st at 7:59pm MST. On February 1st I'll post the giveaway of the book with the most votes!

Feel free to ask questions in the comments or e-mail me. Now go forth and vote!



Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Summary:

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Release Date: January 5th, 2012
Summary:

Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king. The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations. Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the crosshairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends.

Not even Tess’s power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword. And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of the Dragonswood.

Release Date: January 24th, 2012
Summary:

ast spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

Release Date: January 31st, 2012
Summary:

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Release Date:January 31st, 2012
Summary:

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

Release Date:February 28th, 2012
Summary:

he human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Now you've seen them all, so vote! Vote for any and all that you're excited about!

All right, I answered your questions so I hope you don't mind answering one of mine. If you don't know what the royal "we" is, click here.

I don't understand when bloggers call themselves "we." I mean, it makes sense if your blog has more than one author and you share an account. For example, I have a blog reader who comments under the name "We Heart YA." And if you go to their blog you can see that "We Heart YA" is actually four people. So that makes sense.

But explain to me why some bloggers (who are the ONLY authors on their blogs) call themselves "we." Is it some kind of subliminal thing? If people read that a blogger is a "we" will they like them more? That doesn't make sense to me, but I don't know! It's like how "Five for Fighting" is actually just one dude. But calling himselves "Five for Fighting" makes people think he's a band.

Any insights? Did you even know this was happening? Am I making things up? Does it bother you? I promise that tomorrow I'll have some legitimate content on my blog (I'm so behind in reviews) but right now I'M SO CONFUSED!!

WOW! I got a lot more questions than I expected. I've sorted them into four categories: Blogging, Reading, Personal, and Writing. Sorry that I have a tendancy to be long winded. But this was such fun!

• To be honest, I wish I could tell you that I don’t remember. But I do. The reason I become a book blogger was to get free books. Which is COMPLETELY THE WRONG REASON. You’ll see in a later question that getting free books is HARD and UNPREDICTABLE. What’s more important is why I chose to STAY a book-blogger. If I wasn’t a book-blogger, I probably wouldn’t read half as much as I do. I’m not very good at internal motivation. But if I know someone, somewhere wants to read my review, then I’m going to read more. Also, reviewing helps me organize my thoughts and remember how I felt about a book long after I’ve finished.

How did you make your blog so well known?

• “Well known” is a relative term. I still think this same thing about many other blogs. The simple answer is networking. Get to know other bloggers, host multi-blog contests, and just be persistent. It didn’t happen overnight. I was blogging for about 2 years before people actually started to notice me. A pretty blog design helps. *wink*

Who volunteered to sponsor your international contests? I mean, I don't want to know the person's name, but how it happened and how you know them and stuff.  I assume someone didn't just come up to you on the street... :)

• Actually… that’s kind of how it happened. Of course, it wasn’t a stranger. That would be crazy. I can’t say much for fear of giving away HER secret identity, but my international contest “sponsor” isn’t really a sponsor. I still pay for the books. But instead of ME buying them from the Book Depository, I pay HER and then SHE buys them. That way her name is on the packages instead of mine, thus protecting my secret identity. She’s someone I’ve known… forever, really. And not on the internet, in real life. And she has always been very supportive of my blog ‘cause she’s a fellow bibliophile. And… that’s the whole story.

How do you get ARCs? Every time I ask a blogger I get vague answers. "There's lots of different ways..." What ways do YOU know of? Especially getting ARCs in the mail.  That one seems the most mysterious to me.  A step by step process of your experience would be immensely helpful to me.

• Oh boy. I asked this question a MILLION times when I first started blogging, and the sad fact is that it’s really vague. But I’m going to be as specific as I can here. I can’t tell you how EVERYONE gets ARCs, but I will tell you the various ways I get mine:
• The #1 way I get ARCs is from TOURS. Namely, Around the World Tours. I don’t get to keep them, but I do get to read them pretty far in advance. Any blogger who meets the requirements can join tours.
• #2 The next most lucrative way is through Amazon Vine. This is Amazon.com’s reviewer program. Every month they send out a list of things and you can choose 4. They usually have some big-name books as well as smaller ones. Vine is invitation only. I found out about vine about 3 years ago and have just been DROOLING to get in ever since. People gave me tips, but nothing worked. I couldn’t get that stupid invite! Fast forward 3 years. This summer I got an invite. Just out of the blue. It might be because e have Amazon Prime. It might be because I post reviews on Amazon. It might be because I buy a TON of books through Amazon. Or all of the above. I don’t know! I really don’t!
• #3 The next way I get books is directly from publishers. I’m currently on the mailing list for Bloomsbury, Macmillan, and Tor. By mailing list I mean THEY send ME lists of books sometimes and let me choose what I want. How did this happen? I’m not entirely sure… I know Bloomsbury heard of me because I always sent them requests for Shannon Hale’s books, and I’m kind of a Hale super-fan. I was part of Macmillan’s “In Group” back when it still existed, and when it went away I guess I stayed on their list. Tor just randomly sent me an e-mail one day and asked if I’d like to be on their mailing list.
• #4 DUMB LUCK. In case it isn’t clear that most of this is dumb luck anyway, I’ll say it again. It’s DUMB LUCK. Some of my ARCs I get because I’m lucky enough to actually know the authors. Sometimes, though, they really do just show up. When A Million Suns showed up I TOTALLY wasn’t expecting it. Sometimes Candlewick just surprises me with books in the mail (which is awesome. I love everything from Candlewick). I’ve never gotten a Harper book for review from Harper. Never.
• So what’s my advice? BE LOUD. Tweet your reviews and include the publisher’s tag. E-mail them your reviews (do this for at least a few MONTHS before you request books). And then cross your fingers. Do I tweet at publishers? Nope. Do I e-mail them? Nope. But remember that it’s taken me over FOUR YEARS to get where I am. If you want to speed up the process, BE LOUD.
• But my even BETTER advice is to be happy with just blogging. If the only thing making you blog is getting ARCs, you should just stop now. You’re gonna end up being super-jealous of everybody all the time, and jealousy does not breed happiness. Just saying.

Do you ever give away the ARC's you get once you've read them? I've always wanted to have one, even if it's super old.

• Usually if I LIKED a book then I keep the ARC and don’t buy a finished copy. If I LOVED the book then I keep the ARC and buy a finished copy. But if I DON’T LIKE a book then things get hairy. I have a policy where I don’t ever give away anything I wouldn’t want to win. It drives me NUTSO when there are those blogs who have a MILLION contests but all they give away is crap they don’t want. If I’m going to hold a contest, it’s going to be for something that I think is worth winning. This usually means that I host all of my contests. I can’t remember the last contest I had that was publisher-hosted. So, I have a bunch of ARCs that I don’t want, but I don’t give them away. When they really build up then I usually put them up for trade or “pay shipping and it’s yours” or give away a “box of ARCs.” Some of my ARCs, though (like the ones I get from Amazon Vine) cannot be traded or given away. Either I have to keep them, or I have to destroy them. It’s in the Vine agreement. Kinda annoying.

I've always wanted to know what was the thing you had with bad language in books.

• I’ve talked about this before. The simple answer is that it just bothers me. Plain and simple. Call it a pet peeve. I grew up being told that profanity is what people used when they weren’t smart enough to fully express themselves. (I know that’s kind of extreme and not entirely true, but that’s what you get for growing up around a bunch of public schoolteachers). (You also asked about A Touch Mortal. To be honest, I can’t even remember what it was about. So sorry. Can’t answer you!)

How many hours per week do you spend reading YA novels?

• This is a hard question because it totally depends on the week. Do I have a test this week? Any required reading? Did a new Zelda game just come out? Are my friends in town? Am I in a reading slump? If you were to average my total reading throughout the year, then I read about 7 hours a week. But that’s an average. If you’re a math person you know that averages are not always super-reliable. The median is probably closer to… 12? In the summer I can read up to 20-30 hours a week.

Have you ever read any adult novels that you like, or do you ONLY like YA novels? (If you do like any adult novels, please list them! We'd like to know!)

• Um… usually I read adult books on accident (as in, I thought they were YA). Technically Maria V. Snyder’s books are adult books, and I love those. I also love Shannon Hale’s adult books. But… I think that’s it. I just think that YA novels are usually much more interesting, and they have less questionable content on average (in my brain at least), and they usually aren’t as preachy or fluffy. But this is coming from someone who has almost no experience with adult lit. I still don’t really consider myself an adult.

What's the most overrated YA book you've ever read? By that I mean: is there a book that everyone and their brother raved about, couldn't gush enough about, etc....but you didn't like it?

• Hm… I’m going to briefly mention Twilight, only because I read it before it was cool. I read it only a few months after it came out after the insistence of all my friends and neighbors and I thought it was SUPER lame. But, for a more modern example? Um… there are loads. I’ll just list some of them: Criss Cross, The Scorpio Races, Carrier of the Mark, The Replacement, Crown Duel (which I liked, but everyone promised me I’d LOVE).

What book from 2011 surprised you the most? By that I mean perhaps you thought you'd dislike it but wound up truly loving it.

• Aha! An easy question! Blood Red Road. I didn’t even really want it, but Amazon offered it to me and I wasn’t gonna say no to a free book. Then I got it and saw that it was HUGE and without quotation marks AND written phonetically and I was like “NOOOOOO!!!!!!” It ended up being my favorite book of 2011.

I love the fairy tale type of books. I also hate ANY profanity or sex scenes at all. What book like that is your absolute favorite that you would recommend?

• If you’re looking for totally clean, and AMAZING books then you must read Shannon Hale’s books (though Book of a Thousand Days and Enna Burning do have very, very slight nudity[and they tie for my favorite book of all time]). Others would be Heather Tomlinson’s books, The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott (but if you’re that sensitive then avoid Shadows on the Moon), Beauty by Robin McKinley, Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow by Jessica Day George, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, and… oh. I could go on for hours.

If you owned only copy of your all time favorite book left in the world and someone came up to you offering you ten thousand dollars for it, would you sell it?

• WHAT KIND OF TERRORIST ARE YOU!? This is hard for me to imagine because I have about 6 copies each of my favorite books (Book of a Thousand Days and Enna Burning). To be honest… I’d probably find some way to contact Shannon. I do know someone who can contact her directly. :) Maybe if I gave Shannon $5,000 then she could write me a new one.

Thoughts on Mockingjay?

• All I’ve ever said and all I’m ever going to say is that it was a necessary evil. She couldn’t make everyone happy, so she decided to make no one happy, and it kinda worked. In a crappy, necessary-evil way.

• Ugh. Hard. I’m not very good at it. My problem is that I always let reading suffer the most. If I have a ton of homework, then I feel like I can’t read for pleasure, but I don’t want to do my homework, so I’ll waste time online or something. I need to be better than that.

Are you going to see the Austenland movie?

• Nah. It sounds super-lame. I mean, Keri Russell? Fer real? Psh. She’s not in ANYTHING. And she’s certainly not in Waitress which is certainly not my FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME. And Shannon Hale isn’t all that great. I mean, it’s not like she’s my favorite author and actually co-wrote the screenplay or anything. What kind of question is this? *wink*

What size are your feet?

• This is actually a crazy story. My feet USED to be a size 9, but now I can wear as low as a size 7 and prefer and 8. What’s up with that?!

What are some of your favorite movies?

• My favorite movie of all time is Waitress with Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. I also love Baby Mama, anything by Hayao Miyazaki, Jean De Florette, and Inception. Let’s see… am I missing anything big? I don’t think so.

Do you like proofs?

• NO! BIG FAT NO! For one thing, no one actually does proof like it’s meant to be done! For another, at my school the proofs professors are all codgerly old men who love math more than people and are very nice but have no idea how to teach it. It’s hard to love proofs when you don’t know what you’re proving.

What is one unusual trait you would like to find in a husband?

• I’ve been musing over this one ALL DAY. Unusual trait? He has to be tall enough so I can wear heels (Thank you Shannon Hale for making me realize how important this was). I’m not a big fan of freckles. He has to care about how he looks, but not be vain. And, oh yeah, he has to EXIST. That’s pretty unusual for me.

What classes are you taking this semester?

• Mathematical task design (I love this class already, seriously), Theoretical Literary Analysis (everything I hate about English in one class. Blah!), multicultural education, theatre teaching strategies, a religion class, and… one other that starts in second block. I can’t remember. My last semester was so crazy, and I’m taking spring semester classes this year, so this semester is pretty light.

How did that job at the library work out? Are you still stocking shelves or are you a librarian?

• I’ve never wanted to be a librarian (well, not professionally). I’m technically still employed at the library, but when school got to be too crazy I went from part-time to on-call. So they only call me in if they need me.

You've said that you're a Christian, but I was wondering what type and how much does it play into what you will and will not read?

• I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don’t mention this specifically very often because I don’t feel like it’s very important to my blog. It doesn’t matter what religion I am or you are if you read my blog. And does it play into what I will and will not read? Um… not directly. I’ve NEVER said “I won’t read this because my religion tells me not to.” That’s a silly thing to say. I also don’t read LDS fiction because it’s usually so cheesy I want to gag.
• However, my religion has definitely affected my life and my life affects what I read. For example, I don’t hate swearing because Mormons don’t swear (and sometimes we do. Hey! We aren’t perfect!). I hate swearing because I was raised to believe that profanity is what people used when they weren’t smart enough to fully express themselves. I don’t like explicit sex in books because I think that intercourse is a very private act. Do I still read books with pre-martial sex? Absolutely! You can’t escape it. And I’m not naïve enough to think that grit doesn’t exist in the real world. I have no problem reading books with witchcraft or devils, BECAUSE IT’S FICTION. Silly goose. But I know some people do, and that’s fine!
• I don’t believe in “blind faith.” I think that you should always find the truth for yourself. If my religion has an effect on what I read, it’s because I really believe in what it tells me. Not just because it tells it to me.

Are you ever going to write a book? I'd love to read it when you do!
Have you ever tried to write a book?
Have you ever written a book? If so, would you ever consider publishing it or sharing it? If not, would you ever consider writing a book?

• When I was in high school I KNEW I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I idolized them. They were my heroes. And they still are. But writing… has become less important to me. I don’t “write” per say, but I do have a TON of ideas. My longest attempt at a novel before I stopped ended up around 20,000 words. I’ve already mentioned that I have a hard time with internal motivation. If I had a critique group, I could probably write a book. Because I would know that there were people counting on me to keep writing. But I don’t know how to find a good critique group, and as I am now, I just don’t have the motivation. There is something I want to be more than a writer, and that’s a teacher. I’m working toward that goal right now. But writing might happen someday.

WOW! That was FUN! I've gotta do this more often. I LOVE talking about myself! And this was a great writing exercise. Excuse me while I go find a quiet place to pop my ego.

Release Date: January 17th, 2011
Genre:  Romance, Paranormal
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 423
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Series: Unearthly #2 (Review of #1)
Summary(Spoilers, highlight to view):

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Blurb: Only someone with steel skin wouldn't be touched by this book.

Review: This book hit my Achilles heel: mother-daughter relationships. Ah! I LOVED this book. It is written so magically and wonderfully. I even cried at the end. Seriously cried. It broke my heart.

I said I would read this book because I loved the romance in Unearthly. Unfortunately, this book suffers from quite a bit of sequel-phase and love-triangleness. So the romance wasn't doing it for me in this one.

BUT, the main reason I'm only giving it 4 flowers is because... well... nothing really happened. There was one BIG (and heartbreaking) event that the book focused on; and while I loved it, it wasn't exciting. This is really common with the second book in a series. Everything is set up for where it needs to be in book 3, but the set up made this book very... simple. Almost no action at all except for one intense car-crash scene. But that was over in a couple pages.

All in all this book didn't have the WOW factor of Unearthly, though it was still touching, and I'm really excited to see what Cynthia does with everything she's built up.


*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.