Blog Tour: Never Let You Fall by MIchele G. Miller

Welcome to my stop on the Never Let You Fall Blog Tour 

hosted by My Pathway to Books.

Blurb:

   Orphaned at 7, with no memory of her past or the family she lost, 17 year old Skye Martin is tired of being alone and afraid. After a hard night of partying, Skye wakes up alone in an unfamiliar hotel. All she can remember is the deep voice of her rescuer and his promise: “I am safe.”

   Xander has been tasked with watching Skye from afar for the past two years, in order to keep her safe from the demons that hunt her. An easy job - until a pair of red glowing eyes reveal themselves to Skye, and Xander, in a moment of weakness, is forced to break his cover to protect her. Never good at trusting people, Skye is inexplicably drawn to Xander and the immediate bond she feels for him. However, Xander is filled with secrets and ties to her past that threaten to thrust Skye into a world she could never imagine existed…

   As she begins to unravel the truth about who Xander is and the details surrounding her family, she discovers that she might just be the key to saving everything... And, most importantly, she finds that there has always been someone by her side who would never let her fall…

Cindy's Review: 
At a Glance/The Cover:
I don't really know what I expected from this book. My feelings changed throughout the whole book. When I first put it into my hands, I wanted this book to be a modern contemporary romance kind of book, since it took place in this era. I was annoyed to discover magic and demons. I like magic and paranormal books but I really don't like them mixing. Like mixing blood with oil. Ummmm. That just sounds disgusting. LOL.

But when Xander and Skye actually got to the magical land, the other dimension called Tycobol? Omfg. I just finished this book like seconds ago. And I can't even remember the name. Seriously. Ugh. And I"m LAZY. So sorry for not searching it up.  I found out I really loved the magic and demons. Because in this land, it was more of a medieval setting. I really love medieval settings, even better than dystopian! The idea of a king and a queen is just so intriguing. I love the royalties and stuff. And the authority they have. And the hot knights. LOL. Where had that come from?

The Characters/Mini Summaries:
Skye - Skye lived as an orphan in the modern era. Her parents died in a horrible fire explosion when she was seven. And she has no memories of it. To make matters worse, she have terrible nightmares of demons chasing her. For ten years, Skye lived in a group home, no one adopting her, feeling lonely. And all. 

That definitely changed when she was out partying one night and got really drunk. That wonderful knight in a shining armor came out. Of course, it didn't happen like that. Skye thought he was crazy telling her about these ummm.....awkward unreal things. But eventually, Skye accepted what Xander and Riorden said. I think Riorden's name is spelled that way. Gee. Yay for my bad memory. Again.

I think Princess Skye sounds really pretty. ;D 

Xander - Okay. So Xander. I really liked how the author described him. We know he has abs, but Michele didn't say, 'his rock hard abs' or 'chiseled chest'. I feel like a pedo when I think that. Michele simply said, in Skye's POV, of course,  'he could model for Calvin Klein underwear. That way, I don't have to think and try to imagine abs. LOL. I'll just think, 'ohhh, so he's good looking.' And end it there. Because I am definitely not a pedo. LOL. As far as I can tell. I mean, I stalk celebrities okay? But that's it! 

If you haven't guessed already, Xander is the knight in the shining armor. He had actually known Skye since they were like kids, like age 4.... but Skye lost her memory, and he can't exactly tell her everything in one heartbeat. 'It's really hard to explain.' I don't think he said the exact same words, but something like that. You get the idea. 

Since you read up there, from the blurb, Skye doesn't trust anyone, I'm glad to tell, Skye does trust Xander. And soon, their trust for each other turned to heart thumping every time they're near each other. Yeah. There's definitely romance. But they are like, so freakin cute. Omg. LOL. I just have to swoon and fangirl over their relationship. I really liked how this is a strictly young adult read, but can still make your fingers tingle and your heart beat. It's so cute. And there's no nasty details in bed. But they have cute ass hugging and kissing in bed. LOL. Nothing happened any farther. Cuz the princess can't loose her virtue.

Riorden - Okay. I think Xander's uncle deserved a part. I don't want to reveal everything, but Riorden I really think that's not how you spell his name but oh well. raised Xander up. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention Xander is a guardian. And so is Riorden. But I think you know already. Riorden played a key part in Xander and even Skye's life. Or at that ten years.

Selene - To make things less complicated. Selene is the sorcerer's daughter and she helped guide Xander and Skye to the Tycalbol land thing. No questions. I'm too lazy to explain.

The Final Thoughts:
Let's just say, this was  a really entertaining medieval read. I just love medieval settings. Guys. 

The ending was a cliffhanger. Thank god, it wasn't a dying one. I meant the one where I feel like dying if I don't find the next book soon. Because if it was, I'll spend my precious next ten hours trying to search up information instead of doing this tour. And that's bad.

I must say, this was one amazing debut novel! :3

KK.

The Rating: 
<3 (1-10): 8.9~9.
Okay. Can't decide. It's leaning really close to that nine. 

Author Bio:
   Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy,
southern hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of a enigma.  She is an avid Yankees fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow.  However she thinks southern boys are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best thing this side of heaven and her children’s laughter!

   Her family, a doting husband and three awesome minions, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele’s two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

   Never Let You Fall is Michele’s first novel and she is beyond thrilled to have finally followed up on a dream she has held for over 20 years!  God willing there will be many many more books to follow.

Links:
Blog: http://michelegmiller.blogspot.com/
Author Goodreads
Twitter
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes and Nobles

Blog Tour: Horse Charmer by Angelia Amos

Welcome to my stop on the Horse Charmer Blog Tour

hosted by Tasty Book Tours.

You can find the schedule HERE. 

*Horse Charmer is on sale for $.99 (ebook) to celebrate the two year anniversary*

Blurb: 

A gifted princess. A special horse. A quest for the truth. 

At sixteen years old, Cassia would rather spend her days in the royal stables than in the royal court. But as the eldest child of King Robet and Queen Sarahann she obediently performs her duties as the Princess of Karah. 

Her safe world changes forever when her father is murdered in the neighboring kingdom of Vespera. Cassia grapples with his loss as her mother prepares her for her new role as queen. Her first task - she must travel to Vespera to marry a prince she barely knows to fulfill the treaty her father signed just before his death. 

Nothing is as simple as it seems with political intrigues and unusual powers shadowing Cassia on her search to find out who killed her father and why.

Cindy's Review: I find the cover of Horse Charmer really pretty. It gives off the really calm, quiet feeling with the lush green trees and the horse. The book definitely have something to do with a horse, obviously. The title. HORSE charmer. And the cover. A girl riding on a HORSE. But the horse in Horse Charmer is not referring to the horse. It's referring to Cassia.

Cassia - Cassia is the eldest princess of Karah. When her father was suddenly murdered, Cassia would stop at nothing to find out who murdered her father, especially when that murderer is acting as a friend. The King of Vespera came with a contract, that was supposedly signed by her father also, that she is going to marry the Prince of Vespera. Of course, Cassia goes against this decision because she already likes someone else.  But Cassia was also getting dreams from her father. 

She doesn't know if it's real, but in the dream, her father told her he never signed the treaty. Being more and more suspicious of the King of Vespera and having signs pointed to him, Cassia decides to go to Vespera and find out herself. There, Cassia learns a lot of things about herself and makes a lot of decisions. When the day came that she has to marry the Prince, she secretly escaped and headed toward Julian, whom is the head of the Talents, who can provide answers.

That's when Cassia discovered she actually had a Talent. It's call Horse Charmer. She can talk and control horses. And what's even more amazing is that Cassia's horse is an Old One. One of the ancient wild horses that doesn't obey anyone. Even someone as powerful as Julian. Through their adventure to justice of her father's death, Cassia and her horse worked together to find the true criminal. 

In the end, Cassia's Horse Charmer Talent helped a whole lot. It also helped prove her father's death. 

This book reminded me a lot of Graceling by Kristin Cashore. In Graceling, there were Gracelings, whom are some special people who had their own special power. In Horse Charmer, Talents are very much alike Gracelings. Both Talents and Gracelings have to learn how to control their power or talents. Though they are very similar, there are some differences between Talents and Gracelings. Gracelings are more the living and battling power. Like Mind Reading, Survival, Reading Emotions, etc. Talents are more like natural skills. Horse Charmer, Dream Reading, etc. Both books have their own unique-ness so yeah. ;D 

The ending, though, of Horse Charmer reminded me of Graceling  very much. Both main characters, Cassia and Katsa used their powers to kill the evil enemy... 

Either way, I really like Horse Charmer. It gave this happy ending episode. Reading about Talents and Cassia's talent was also entertaining. I guess, Horse Charmer is a dystopian, but it still gave some medieval setting to it, much like Graceling. And I also like the romance. It's so cute. To me, romance was pretty big part to the story, since I'm a romantic maniac,  but according to the title, it's all about the Horse Charmer.

I rate this a 9~ c; 

Author Bio: 

    Angelia Almos' love affair with horses began when she was five years old and talked her parents into her first riding lesson. Horses have always been a huge part of her life. The initial idea behind Horse Charmer came to her when she was fourteen. The image of a teenage girl riding her horse through a meadow appeared. Who was this girl? Where was she going? What was she running from? Those questions led to the creation of Horse Charmer.

Links:

Facebook
Twitter
Blog: http://angeliaalmos.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.angeliaalmos.com
Google+
Author Goodreads

Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
ITunes

Giveaway:



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Book Review: Rift by Andrea Cremer

Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1)
by Andrea Cremer
Release Date: August 7th, 2012
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Paperback, 430 pages
Source: Liana/Walmart
ISBN: 978-0-14-242493-3
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Cindy's Review: I already read Andrea Cremer's Nightshade novel and my friend got the second book to the Rift, which is Rise. So when she saw Rift at Walmart, she had to get that too. Anyways, yeah. My friend is like my source of books. She gets everything. LOL. And I read everything.

The Cover:

Wooooh, that sexy look is there. And I must say, her weapon is amazing. LOL. Nice. ANd I like her hair too. And her eyes. ANd I love blue. Omg. That background color right there.

The Characters/Plot:

Ember - So Ember is the daughter of some high lord. She has an older sister whose gonna get married to some high classical person somewhere else. Ember is 16 and to escape her father's control, she decides to go the combat to train herself to fight and all that. Of course, Ember is special and she aces at many things. Including horse-back riding. (And seducing guys)

Alistair- The second character came up was Alistair. He grew up with Ember and I expected them to have an relationship, but Alistair turned out to be those touchy, over-protective guys and thinks Ember likes him and they should be together. So I was like ewww...never mind. Ugh.

Barrow -  Barrow though on the other hand. MHmmm... That teacher. Or whoever he is. He  is in charge of training Ember. And Yeah. Ember falls for him. Typical. Normally, I don't like student-teacher relationships, but like this is an exception, cuz like I don't think their age difference is that far apart. Anyways, saying Barrow's name reminds me of Baro from B1A4. :D LOL. 

The Extras:

I don't think this book had anything to do with Nightshade. Unless, I'm just really bad at reading. LOL. Anyways, I don't think so. No werewolves were mentioned. And they are a special classed people but the book didn't mention that they weren't human. Either way, I actually enjoyed this book's romance. More than Nightshade. Because the love triangle in Nightshade did not turn out well. Team Ren. :D

Rating: (1-10): 8.9

I keep forgetting to rate in my other book reviews. LOL. 

Happy Reading~ 

Cindy's Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon.

Entwined by Heather Dixon.
Book Summary: Azalea and her younger sisters dance in the mysterious silver forest every night, escaping from the sadness of the palace and their father’s grief. What they don’t understand—although as time passes they begin to get an inkling of the danger they are in—is that the mysterious and dashing Keeper is tightening his snare with deadly purpose. Luckily, Azalea is brave and steadfast. Luckily, a handsome young army captain also has his eye on Azalea. . . . Lush, romantic, and compelling, this debut novel by Heather Dixon will thrill fans of Shannon Hale, Robin McKinley, and Edith Pattou.

Cindy's Summary: This book is based on The Twelfth Dancing Princesses. The oldest princess is called Azalea and she promised her mother to take care of her eleven younger sisters, whose names are in alphabetical order in the names of flowers.When her mother dies, the king doesn't allow the princesses to dance so they found this enchanted place where they can dance in. This enchanted place have this mysterious Keeper who steals stuff. For a while, Azalea actually likes him, but later on, found out that he stole stuff from the princesses. Either way, Azalea loses her trust in him and tries not to go back, but Keeper actually makes her go to the enchanted place to dance the Entwined.

Rate: (1-10): 7.6

Cindy's Opinion's: I really don't have that much opinion about this book. Just that Keeper is a disgusting pervert and Lord Bradford sounds really old. I thought he was an old man. I think that's it.

Now, to the short quotes.. I don't have very much.

" 'Your mother is dead.....she died last night.' "

What kind of person tells you one day after your mother died as in nothing was wrong the night you danced...

"....sisters had been named alphabetically, as the King liked everything very much in order."

For real, alphabetically. Are you kidding me, who gets this crazy.;/

"....umpteenth time."

I don't know why I found this interesting but no one uses the word umpteenth anymore.

" 'Who the devil are you?' "

This sounded like a very interesting phrase to say.

"You know I know where you go, and I know you know I know of it."

So confusing.....

"What a fire poker!"

 I actually like this phrase.

Okay, that's it (Liana's exact words.)

~ Cindy ;) 

Fire by Kristin Cashore Book Review

Fire by Kristin Cashore.
Book Review by Cindy Mai.
Book Teaser: It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. Young King Nash clings to the throne, while revel lords, in the north and south, build armies to unseat him. War is coming. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves. This is where where Fire lives, a girl whose startling appearance is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her. Everyone . . . except Prince Brigan.

Note about the two book covers: Although I read from the one above, I like the second book cover better where Fire's hair and dress blows and ruffles in the wind,
holding a bow being so cool and awesome.

Cindy's Summary: So Fire is a monster, just like her father Cansrel, but Cansrel is evil and he uses his power to torture people and make people do his bidding. In this book, monsters are stunningly beautiful and can take control of minds. Fire is the opposite of her father, and wishes not to harm others, therefore, she staged her father's death and pretended it was a suicide. She was like only fifteen or sixteen when she did that and then she started living under the protection of her best friend, Lord Archer and his father, Lord Brocker. Lord Archer and Fire are supposedly lovers, but Fire finds him too overprotective and overwhelming. One day, Archer decided to go to Queen Roen's fort to get more soldiers and more information about the kingdom and Fire decided to go with him. They knew Queen Roen  very well, and that was when Fire met Roen's sons, King Nashdell and his army commander, Prince Brigandell. King Nash, fell over himself to get to Fire and like basically, rape her in kisses, while Prince Brigan guarded her with coldness, because her father, Cansrel had made the kingdoms in ruins. King Nash had wanted Fire to go to King's City to help him go into enemies' minds and get information from them, and Fire wanted to go see where her mother lived and died and the wonders of the city. When got to the city, Fire faced the rest of the royal family, Princess Clara, Prince Garan, and lastly, Prince Brigan's five-year-old daughter, Princess Hanna. Lady Fire, had her own guards, Musa, Mila, Margo, and Neel everywhere she went and she also has to face King Nash's over-affectionate towards her and Archer's jealousy. Luckily, Fire and Prince Brigan had become more friendly towards each other. Fire started helping the kingdom find out information and plan how to get rid of the two enemy groups, Lord Genetian and Lord Mydogg.I know, weird name. So yep. And there is an absolute lot of romance.

Rate: (1-10): 10!!!
I feel like this is the best book out of the Graceling series.
Bitterblue was just wasn't what I expected it to be. No offense. I just really didn't like it. It was kind of boring, too. 

There must be like a thousand of quotes, but I'll just state a few. 

"Even when she did not like Archer, she loved him."
I kind of find Archer annoying and he wants Fire all to himself. I even find King Nash better than him, even if King Nash tries to kiss Fire. But he had a sad ending. And no, I did not cry, Liana. I didn't understand why you would.

" 'Show the slightest interest in befriending the king,' he said, 'and I will kill you.' "
That was Brigan. His coldness to Fire. But really, he gentler than he sounds.

"If Brigan would ever let her, if he would ever in a million years, she could ease his worries for him."
Fire's slowly falling for him. Not that she realizes it. Brigan's actually as old as you think of a commander. He's only 22, so that means Nash is only 27. I know, 22 with a 6-year-old daughter. But we haven't gotten there yet.

I really don't feel up to putting more quotes, or else it'll go to a thousand pages, so why not just read the book and find out all the romantic-ness it has in it. And Archer's jealousy and who Fire ended up with. It's just so romantic. And they're all so young.

So read the book. Trust me, it's AMAZING!

- Cindy ;)