Queen of Frost (Frost, #1), Aria Noble

 

Queen of Frost (Frost, #1)

By: Aria Noble

My Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Ember and Eli live in a time after the Before. Their world is one of snow, cold, food insecurity, and a non-stop fight to stay alive. They have grown up listening to the stories told to them of a place called Frost. Frost has machines, innovations, and food. Eli has dreamed of discovering this amazing world and finally decides that he is going to take that perilous trip across the frozen tundra. Against her better judgement, Ember accompanies him.

Miraculously, after several weeks of travel the duo come across a world surrounded by a sheer wall of ice. Frost is a place with warmth, electricity, and plenty of food. It almost seems like paradise. But something feels off to Ember. The people do not seem quite right. Upon meeting the Queen of Frost, Ember is assigned a special task, she is challenged with fixing the malfuctioning automatons. During their time in Frost, Ember and Eli begin to grow further and further apart. At some point Eli wants to return home to Dusk. Ember has made a new friend named Felix and with his assistance she wants to stay and discover what is really going on in Frost. What is the secret the Queen is keeping? Do her dreams mean anything. What are the automatons trying to tell Ember?

Aria Noble has created a beautiful described world. Ember and Eli are both endearing characters. The story developed by Noble was easy to read, fast paced, and action packed; I couldn't put the book down and completed it in one sitting.

Purchase:

Amazon  

This story can be borrowed as part of Kindle Unlimited! 

Surrendering to Hunt: A Wyoming Wilde Novel (Wyoming Wilde, #2), Jennifer Ryan

 

Surrendering to Hunt: A Wyoming Wilde Novel (Wyoming Wilde, #2)

By: Jennifer Ryan

My Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Hunt is a local police officer for the town of Willow Fork; he plays everything by the book. Cyn lives her life to the fullest, as if everyday could be her last. Too many times Hunt has pulled Cyn over for speeding and issued her a ticket. The two couldn't be any different than night and day. At some point in their interactions Cyn has gotten under Hunts skin, in a good way.

Cyn has begged her sister Angela to leave her abusive boyfriend Rad so many times. Where others would have eventually given up, Cyn refuses to lose hope that she can save her sister. Hunt and Rad were the best of friends growing up but over the years Hunt has seen a change in Rad. When Rad takes Cyn hostage Hunt is called out to diffuse the tense situation. Rad finds himself arrested and sees this as betrayal from his long time friend. A few weeks later, Ang and her new born daughter Lana come up missing. Cyn and Hunt work together to discover what has happened to them. During the investigation, Cyn and Hunt cannot deny the attraction between the two of them. Can Cyn help Hunt to loosen up and learn to live life a little? Can Hunt tame Cyn? The real question is, does he really want to?

Jennifer Ryan tackles some tough social issues in her stories and always manages to do so in a manner that is realistic, sensitive, and educational. Domestic abuse is an unfortunate reality for many men and women. In Surrendering to Hunt, Ryan manages to give a true and honest perspective of what the family of an abused individual experiences when a loved one refuses to leave the relationship. I loved the strength and independence of Cyn. Ryan's writing made me feel the struggle such a strong woman endures when she is unable to save someone she loves. Hunt is our sexy hero who understands that no matter how much he wants to he can never hold Cyn back, he must allow her to be who she is, it's his responsibility to be her just be her partner.

I am really excited to see what story Ryan develops in the next chapter of the Wilde men for brother Max.

Purchase:

Amazon

House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2), Sarah J. Maas

 

House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)

By: Sarah J. Maas

My Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

In Maas' second installment of the Crescent City series we revisit our half fae half human warrior Bryce Quinlan, her fallen angel Hunt Athalar, and their diverse crew of friends, family, and acquaintances. When we left off at the end of the first book, Bryce had just saved Crescent City from the demons and had discovered that she is starborn. Bryce has grown, she no longer has an unhealthy relationship with drugs and alcohol. Hunt has won his freedom as a slave to the archangels but continues to work and answer to the 33rd and the new Governor assigned to their region. Although the couple are incredibly attracted to one another, they have made a pact to truly get to know each other without chaos pushing at them from all sides. Unfortunately, the rebel faction insists on pulling Bryce and Hunt into their plans to overthrow the Asteri overlords. 

Having belonged to many Maas Facebook fan pages over the years I realize that Crescent City #1 was met with mixed reviews. I actually love this series. I think each of her series shows growth in SJM's writing. With this series we are getting a more mature storyline with more mature characters. I applaud Maas for creating such a flawed character in Bryce. The drug and alcohol issues were evident in the first story and although we don't see Bryce battle those demons head on the monster in the room is addressed early in the CC #2's storyline. I love that we get the point of view from many different characters. Bryce and Hunt remain our main story tellers but each of their friends play a key role in the rebel's plan and get to share their perspective

I love, love, love this cover. It is gorgeous. And without giving anything away the ending of this story is remarkable. I had to spend three hours decompressing from what we learn. I very rarely give any book 5 stars/thumbs up, I have to be amazed, and Maas certainly did it with this book.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book, words we should all consider in life...

'She had taken the beauty and simplicity of living for granted. How she wished she'd savored it more. Every single moment.' ~Sofie Renast (Sarah J. Maas)

Purchase:

Amazon