My TBR List Review *June* ~ Opposition ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout #MyTBRL #COYER #HW2018

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. 

So sorry for the delay in my posting of this review. I didn't have time on Friday to get it typed up and I was driving back from Texas all day yesterday. =)

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Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Lux Series #5
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchased paperback
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER, #HW2018, #ShelfLove, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads

Synopsis
Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came.

She can't believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her - could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal.

They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything - even what they cherish most - to ensure the survival of their friends...and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing...

Even though it took me an exorbitant amount of time to finish Opposition (to be fair, I wasn't dedicated-ly reading it all that time), Opposition was honestly the perfect ending to the Lux series. Here are the highlights:

• Plot
  Not only was I impressed with the plot threads central to this final installment but also the over-arching plot. They were all well done and all tied up nicely. I know it's been awhile in between Origin and Opposition - and a really long while between all the others - but I admit that JLA surprised me with some things. There were others that tied up a little bit too neatly but I still felt they worked well with the story overall. Also, I liked the parallels JLA drew between the prejudice and judgement going on between the Lux, The Arum, and humans and the way those same things we humans perpetrate against each other. So much could be resolved or even avoided if we only treated EVERYONE with respect.
• Katy & Daemon
  These two have been through so much and go through even more in Opposition. The growth and maturity they both exhibit, the resilience they display, and the strength of the bond only getting stronger in the face of adversity, prove them to be strong individuals and an even stronger couple.
• Romance
  Well, with Katy & Daemon it goes without saying. Their romance - their love - is something to behold. But I also enjoyed seeing romance blossom or continue to blossom between secondary characters as well.
• Secondary Characters
  JLA made sure I was equally as invested in the secondary characters as I was in Katy and Daemon throughout the series. Dawson & Beth, Dee, Archer, Luc, Hunter...yeah, JLA created a dynamic cast that gave the story depth and kept me that much more engaged.

In the end, there were things that shocked me, things that made me gasp, things that made me swoon, things that broke my heart, and things that restored my faith in humanity and I couldn't imagine a more fitting ending to this series.

My TBR List Review *April* ~ Finding It ~ Cora Carmack #MyTBRL #2018HW

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. 



Finding It by Cora Carmack
Losing It #3
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased Paperback at a local signing
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2018HW, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads

Synopsis
Sometimes you have to lost yourself to find where you truly belong...

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life...or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

It's been a little while since I read Faking It and a long while since I read Losing It and I know that I adored those stories and characters but here's the thing: Finding It resonated so deeply and I fell so hard for both Kelsey and Jackson that their story is my favorite.

It might be the place I'm in with life - or rather the place(s) where my kids are - and honestly it probably is that reason - but CCarmack nailed so completely what it feels like to wonder at what your purpose is and to stumble about in an attempt to figure it out. That's always been my favorite element of New Adult as a genre and CCarmack conveys it so well. Now that I have children experiencing the same things, getting ready to embark on a similar journey, and/or navigate these same waters, Kelsey and Jackson and their situations just spoke to me.

Kelsey looks like she's having one last hurrah before starting her life post-graduation. She's traveling Europe, partying, and living life. But Kelsey is actually trying to keep memories and emotions at bay by living in the moment and drowning things in alcohol...oh and by spending daddy's money. At first, I had trouble sympathizing with her poor, little rich girl persona. It didn't take long to see that it was all an act and Kelsey is quite an actress. At times it seemed as though she didn't really know herself. Underneath that party girl facade was a damaged young woman who'd been dealing with quite a lot for quite a long time but also a young woman who was capable and passionate and worthy of love.

Jackson started out as a snarky, handsome enigma. I could tell he was damaged as well and that he had a painful story but it was a story he wasn't ready to share. He was a compassionate young man who seemed to see right through Kelsey's mask to the heart of her. Even better, he saw ll the parts of her worthy of his attention, care, and love.

What I enjoyed most was how Jackson took it upon himself to help Kelsey find what she was really looking for by giving her what she thought she was looking for. And in the course of helping Kelsey, he learned a few things himself as well as finding exactly what he was looking for.

Finding It was captivating, powerful, and emotionally charged as well as funny, sweet, and sexy. Thank goodness I have more CCarmack on my shelf!

Review ~ Epilogue ~ C.J. Roberts #2018HW #COYER #ShelfLove #TravelingtotheTerminus

Epilogue by C.J. Roberts
The Dark Duet #3 
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Genre: Adult, Dark Romance
Source: Purchased on Kindle
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2018HW, #COYER, #ShelfLove, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads

Synopsis
I'm writing this because you begged. You know how I love the begging. In fact, you probably know too many things and know them far too well. Who am I? Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out. I was a whore in my youth, a killer since my adolescence, and a monster as a man. I am the man who kidnapped Livvie. I am the man who held her in a dark room for weeks. But, most importantly, I am the man she loves. She loves me. It's quite sick, isn't it? Of course, there's more to our story than can be surmised in a few short sentences, but I'm at a loss for justifying my behavior back then. I assume if you're reading this, I don't need to make those justifications. You've already made your own. You're reading this because you want to know about the rest of the story. You want to know what happened that warm summer night in September of 2010, the night I met Livvie at The Paseo. It was the night my life changed all over again. It didn't happen exactly as Livvie said. She's been very kind to me in the retelling of our story. The truth is far more...complicated.

I just realized that I never reviewed The Dark Duet here on my blog even though I was blogging when I read it. I'm sure I had my reasons then but I can't fathom what they were. It's been almost 5 years now since I last visited Livvie and Caleb but I found their story just as riveting. 

***

"I found redemption. I found forgiveness. I found love." 

-Caleb

Epilogue was the perfect gift from Roberts to fans of her Dark Duet. Experiencing the HEA or at least the happy-for-now through Caleb's POV made his and Livvie's ending that much more touching. And I wouldn't mind more from this world if Roberts were ever to feel so inclined. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the Dark Duet, Caleb is the antihero - sort of villain - being the man who kidnapped Livvie. But through those books we learned about him, his past, what shaped him into the man he is, willing to do what he does. We also saw that he was redeemable. That underneath all his rough exterior and volatile moods and scary actions is a man who is flawed, damaged...but worthy of redemption and love. I wouldn't have read Epilogue if I felt otherwise.

So having access to his thoughts, fears, dreams, and nightmares in this final installment only served to solidify my feelings about him. Livvie and his feels for her make him vulnerable - which is a position Caleb hasn't been in for a long time. It's a position he isn't comfortable with. But to prove to himself that he is a changed man, capable of love, and able to earn redemption and love even though I'm not sure he'll ever feel worthy of it, he'll allow himself that vulnerability.

He took her life only to end up saving it. She, in turn, saved his. 

"Survival is the most important thing. It affords us the chance to live and to find all of the things that make living worthwhile." 

Indeed.

Epilogue was sweet, steamy, and heartwarming. Caleb and Livvie's love didn't come about conventionally. But it's love nonetheless and their story is one that will stay with me.

My TBR List Review *January* ~ Steal the Day ~ Lexi Blake #MyTBRList #COYER #2018HW

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. 


Steal the Day by Lexi Blake
Thieves #2
Release Date: October 22, 2013
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased on Nook
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Challenges: #COYER, #2018HW, #MyTBRList, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads

Synopsis
When a member of her crew is dragged to Hell by a demon, Zoey plans the most dangerous heist of her career. With her team at her side, Zoey intends to sneak onto the Hell plane and steal Sarah back.

The job seems impossible until a new client makes them an offer too good to refuse. If she can find an ancient artifact called The Revelation, she can use it to locate an angel who holds Sarah's redemption in his hands.

Surrounded by warring angels and demons, the greatest threat may come from one of her own. Torn between her Fae lover and the vampire who has always held her heart, Zoey finds that she and Dev are trapped in Daniel's web of secrets and it may be Zoey who has to pay the ultimate price.

It's a close call but I think I enjoyed Steal the Day even more than Steal the Light! Of course, being a vampire fan, it helped that Daniel held a more pivotal role here and I was able to really see him for who he is. Despite being firmly on TeamDaniel, Dev made it hard not to fall for him, especially when he proved he was more than a pretty boy out for a good time.

In Steal the Day, Zoey is set on rescuing her friend, Sarah, from Hell. While she's trying to figure out a plan, a customer comes to her with a job offer which will help in more ways than one. Once that is set in motion, Zoey must also deal with vampire politics, Daniel's secrets and plans, and Dev's new role in those particular proceedings.

Steal the Day had all the good stuff its predecessor did - fae, demons, vampires, witches, and weres, suspense, action, and romance. Then it upped the ante adding some crazy demon-worshipers, some angels, and even more goodness in the romance department. The action and suspense elements were all the more riveting thanks to Zoey since she always manages to get herself into some sort of trouble. Blake also did some world building with her vampires, showing us more vampire history, vampire society, and politics. Blake definitely tugged at my heartstrings with Zoey, Daniel, and Dev trying to work out a compromise in relation to their feelings for one another. Oh! And we got to meet Lucifer Morningstar!

Did I mention how much I love Zoey? She sometimes lets her mouth fly before her brain fully engages but she's a hoot and I wouldn't want her any other way. There was much talk of balance in this installment and that theme seemed to particularly apply to Zoey, Daniel, and Dev. Zoey's done some growing via accepting how she feels and what she wants out of her relationships with Daniel and Dev. But Daniel and Dev did the most maturing. Daniel admitted and demonstrated his feelings - but more than that, he proved the depth of them by agreeing to things that went against his against his vampire nature as well as admitting he has limitations due to his vampire nature. Dev, on the other hand, showed the depth of his feelings for Zoey by taking on a role in Daniel's life and being willing to sacrifice for her - even give her up because of his own limitations. Like I said, they each showed what they're really made of and that they'd sacrifice a lot for Zoey.

The ending just left me anxious for more. I'm eager to see what item Zoey will be contracted to steal next and why, as well as seeing where things go with all Daniel and Dev are plotting. Steal the Moon promises to be an exciting ride!

2017 End-of-Year Challenge Updates ~ All My 2018 Challenge Sign Ups

I dedicated these last two months of 2017 to finishing up series I was behind in by 1 or 2 books - #TravelingtotheTerminus. 

I managed to complete the following series:

Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day

Games Series by Nyrae Dawn

New Camelot Series by Sierra Simone

Tempest Series by Michelle Mankin

I almost completed these series:

The Mageri Series by Dannika Dark

Blackcreek Series by Riley Hart

Pushing the Limits Series by Katie McGarry

That's not very many considering the list is like 42 series long but I did a re-read of the first two in Day's Crossfire series so that put me behind. At any rate, I'll be working at this goal again in 2018.

***2017 Challenges End-of-Year Updates***

#2017 Bookish Resolutions
Y'all can click here for a list of my resolutions for 2017 but in the end, I still managed to accomplish some and fail at others. Again, I looked at these resolutions as goals which means I didn't really fail. *grins* Laura and Michelle are hosting this challenge again in 2018 but I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to participate...

#2017HW Report Card for Quarter One

My goal was to read 1 book a month. Again, I read 3 books in the first and second quarters of 2017 so that means I got A's!!! However, I received an F in the third and fourth quarters because I only read ONE single book from my list read. Hopefully next year will go better. :)

#2017NewRelease - 46 books
I totally hit my goal of New Release Pro this year - 31-60 books - so I'm happy with that. Lexxie is once again hosting the New Release Challenge and I plan to participate.

#Audiobook Challenge - 26 listens 
I didn't quite make my goal of 30 books but I'm proud of what I accomplished. I plan to join in this challenge again in 2018.

#authorluv - 1 book
Yep, kinda failed at showing CoHo some love. But I *DO* love her so and I plan to get more read in 2018.

#BloggerShame - 10 books
I failed to reach my goal of 20 books but 10 is better than none so I'm considering that a win. :) I'll work at it more in 2018.

Read All the Books - 11 books
I still have quite a bit of Sabrina Jeffries' backlist to tackle but I'll get there. This is an ongoing challenge so I'll be working at it again in 2018.

#ShelfLove - 85 books 
I *nailed* this challenge goal of 51+ books! Woohoo! I might be most proud of having made this goal because that was my aim - to read more of the books I own! Even though the lovely ladies at Chapter Break and Second Run Reviews aren't hosting this challenge in 2018, I plan to continue showing my shelves lots of love.

***CHALLENGES FOR 2018***

I've decided to cut down on the number of challenges I'm doing in 2018. I'm having issues keeping up with all of them all! ;) 

I'm once again participating in the Audiobook Challenge hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and Hot Listens. My goal for 2018 is Binge Listener or 20-30 books. :)

I'm once again joining in the Blogger Shame Challenge hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup. (click the button for all the details) I really am working at reading all those ARCs I requested from Netgalley. *winks* I'm aiming to read 20 books. That ought to help my rating. :)

I'm once again participating in the New Release Challenge hosted by Lexxie @(un)ConventionalBookViews. You can click the button above for all the details but I'm challenging myself to New Release Pro level again in 2018 because I *still* want to read books I already own. :) So that means I'll aim for 31-60 new releases.

Sabrina Jeffries is my author of choice for this challenge. So far, I've finished 11 of her books. :) If you want in on this challenge, click the button for details.

I'm once again participating in the Reading Assignment Challenge hosted by Berls & Michelle @BecauseReading. I'm committing to reading 1 book a month. You can click the button above for details on the challenge. One of the *big* changes they made to the challenge this year is that you only have to create a list for January to June and then in June, create a list for July to December. Yay! Hopefully this will help me stick to my list. My first half of 2018 Reading List is: