Her Mouth Got Long, and Her Big Teeth Got Bigger

~What Big Teeth~
By Rose Szabo
Amazon ~ Powell's

Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together — in order to save them all, Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.

Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce paranormal fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.


Coming off of two somewhat disappointing werewolf stories, and having a surprise spot opened up for October, I decided to seek out another werewolf story to see if I could satiate my craving for fangs and fur. Enter What Big Teeth which happened to be available in both e-book and audio formats in my library. I remembered this book mainly from its enticing cover, its wolfish reference to Red Riding Hood, and seeing it doing the rounds on Facebook earlier this year, but otherwise had no idea what it was about. So, deciding not to question my luck, I went ahead and sank my teeth into this story.

The Island of Glass Shimmered Like a Jewel

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Stars of Fortune and Bay of Sighs, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Island of Glass~
The Guardians Trilogy
Book 3
By Nora Roberts
Amazon ~ Powell's

As the hunt for the Star of Ice leads the six guardians to Ireland, Doyle, the immortal, must face his tragic past. Three centuries ago, he closed off his heart, yet his warrior spirit is still drawn to the wild. And there’s no one more familiar with the wild than Riley—and the wolf within her…

An archaeologist, Riley is no stranger to the coast of Clare, but now she finds herself on unsure footing, targeted by the dark goddess who wants more than the stars, more than the blood of the guardians. While searching through Irish history for clues that will lead them to the final star and the mysterious Island of Glass, Riley must fight her practical nature and admit her sudden attraction to Doyle is more than just a fling. For it is his strength that will sustain her and give her the power to run towards love—and save them all…


It's finally come down to this. This was the story I was waiting for. I know, I know, a romance between a werewolf and an immortal sounds pretty darn steamy, right? Add their hot and cold chemistry to big climactic battles and a fairytale ending, and this book was certain to be my favorite. Right?

In These Waters, in the Songs, in the Sighs, the Star Waits

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Stars of Fortune, or don't mind knowing spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Bay of Sighs~
The Guardians Trilogy
Book 2
By Nora Roberts
Amazon ~ Powell's

Mermaid Annika is from the sea, and it is there she must return after her quest to find the stars. New to this world, her purity and beauty are nothing less than breathtaking, along with her graceful athleticism, as her five new friends discovered when they retrieved the fire star.

Now, through space and time, traveler Sawyer King has brought the guardians to the island of Capri, where the water star is hidden. And as he watches Annika in her element, he finds himself drawn to her joyful spirit. But Sawyer knows that if he allows her into his heart, no compass could ever guide him back to solid ground...

And in the darkness, their enemy broods. She lost one star to the guardians, but there is still time for blood to be spilled—the mermaid’s in the water and the traveler’s on the land. For she has forged a dangerous new weapon. Something deadly and unpredictable. Something human.


Knowing the characters from the last book, I admit I wasn't too excited going into this one. The ditzy, child-like mermaid as the main romantic lead? Not really my idea of a great time. Still, I was at least interested in how the group as a whole would progress, and I didn't mind spending more time with Sawyer, so I went ahead and dove in.

Many Will Seek the Stars, the Power, the Fortune, and the Fate

~Stars of Fortune~
The Guardians Trilogy
Book 1
By Nora Roberts
Amazon ~ Powell's

Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the legendary fire star, part of an ancient prophecy. Sasha recognizes them, because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.

Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.

When a dark threat looms, the six must use their combined powers—including trust, unity, and love—to find the fire star and keep the world on course.


I picked this up completely by chance. Never having read anything by Nora Roberts, I only know what I've heard from friends and family (who read her almost religiously) and the fact that her books are literally everywhere. Honestly, I was more interested in reading her new dragons series, but as that is still a series-in-progress, I decided to try another of her semi-recent completed fantasy series as my official introduction to the bestselling romance genre. Plus it fulfills one of the prompts for this year's reading challenge, so even if I didn't like it it's still a win.

A Never-Ending Cycle of Reunion, Romance, and Tragedy

~Spellbound~
Book 1
By Cara Lynn Shultz
Amazon ~ Powell's

What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.


This book found me under the worst circumstances possible. Having just finished Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer, I was desperate for something as magical as that. This was not the book I needed.

The Kingsbane, The Lady of Death

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Furyborn, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Kingsbane~
Empirium Trilogy
Book 2
By Claire Legrand
Amazon ~ Powell's

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity's long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana's power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted by embracing her mother's power or rejecting it forever.


This was not the best time for me to read this book. Then again, I don't know if there's ever a good time to read a book like this, but definitely not when you're already feeling depressed. It's not uncommon for the 2nd book in a trilogy to be more depressing than the first, what with needing to set up for the more triumphant finale, but this one, I think, takes it to a new extreme. I mean, I don't even think Catching Fire (The Hunger Games) was this disheartening.

The One Who Rises, The Furyborn Child

~Furyborn~
Empirium Trilogy
Book 1
By Claire Legrand
Amazon ~ Powell's

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable—until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world—and of each other.


This book is one helluva ride. Switching between the perspectives of two formidable women, it was never easy to put this book down, and I loved it.

The Angel Was Made Out Of Clockwork

~Clockwork Angel~
The Infernal Devices
Book 1
By Cassandra Clare
Amazon ~ Powell's

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Considering the disappointment (and rage) I had with the last books I read by Clare, I'll admit that I was expecting yet another rage-fest with Clockwork Angel. To its credit, even with the niggling suspicion that I would hate this book running throughout my consciousness, it managed to leave me with a favorable impression. Unfortunately, I found much of this prequel's storyline to be derivative of the first, and thus while I did not hate it, I can't say I found much to like either. Let the comparisons ensue!

Dusted With Tiny Stars

~Stardust~
By Neil Gaiman
Amazon ~ Powell's

Hopelessly crossed in love, a boy of half-fairy parentage leaves his mundane Victorian-English village on a quest for a fallen star in the magical realm. The star proves to be an attractive woman with a hot temper, who plunges with our hero into adventures featuring witches, the lion and the unicorn, plotting elf-lords, ships that sail the sky, magical transformations, curses whose effects rebound, binding conditions with hidden loopholes and all the rest.


I've owned this book for quite sometime, though it's taken Reading With Tequila's group read to finally delve into it. I've also been long overdue, according to certain friends, for reading Gaiman's books. And having seen the movie, I was interested to see how the book/movie stacked up, and if I preferred one over the other. With all that in mind, I dove into Stardust.