Review: Temptation Rising by A.C. Arthur

Temptation Rising by A.C. Arthur
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Synopsis: They live in the shadows—part man, part animal—hiding their true nature while defending the human race from the most savage of their kind…

Washington D.C. police officer Kalina Harper still dreams about that night, two years ago, when a huge cat-like creature saved her from a crazed attacker. Although she kept the truth to herself, Kalina can never forget the ferocious strength of the beast’s fangs and claws—or the raw animal hunger in its eyes. Until she meets Roman Reynolds…

Powerful, passionate, and impossible to resist, they are the Shadow Shifters…

Muscular, magnetic, and all man, Roman is a high-powered attorney with a predatory smile and seductive charm. He is also a criminal suspect with suspicious connections to the Amazon jungle. But when Kalina discovers that Roman is linked to a secret race of shapeshifting jaguars—who hunt down maneaters—she is forced to put her trust in a man who unleashes her wildest fantasies and fears. A fierce creature of the night whose nature is to protect his female at any cost...

I like the YA series (under name Artist Arthur) done by author and if you have yet to read the Mystyx series you should, any who I enjoyed the series so when she came out with this adult series I knew I was going to check it out but it turned out that I was not as much a fan of this one as the YA series but still overall I enjoyed it. This world of Shapeshifters, sorry Shadow Shifters, that she created and from page one your immediately pulled in but it's not something that stands out and sets itself apart from other shifter novels. The book is told through both Kalina and Roman perspectives with a few of the secondary characters povs as well, the pace was steady until the end in which I felt overwhelmed with all the revelations hitting me at the same time and I wish it was more of a explanation in certain situations like why Kalina smell incite a riot to what it seems majority of the male shadow shifters and a certain someonethat is so strung on her.I like the dynamic between Roman and Kalina, they suited each other well and the chemistry was undeniable even though they tried their hardest to do just that. Now even though this book was a okay start to series, I probably won't be in a rush to get the next book but the story line is interesting enough to make me want to read more.

A little something for being patient

Since we have not been actively posting reviews we thought we should give you a treat for hanging with us. In honor of The Great Gatsby movie remake and Amy Plum's final book If I should Die released earlier this month we are giving away Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman which is the YA take on The Great Gatsby. I (Amanda) really enjoyed this book now I will tell you to not put too much thought on how it's not exactly like The Great Gatsby cause you will be sadly disappointed instead go in with the mindset of it being a fun modern version of the classic book and you will enjoy :)

And something a little extra for being great we are also giving away Die for Me AND Until I Die by Amy Plum!! So go under Giveaways tab to enter contest effective tomorrow May 26th!! 

M.I.A. reviews lately

Hi guys sorry to have seem to abandon you but life got a little complicated for a bit but now everything is settling back into place so bring on the reviews! So hold on stick with us and we will promise to deliver :)

Review: Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario

Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Keegan lives to exact revenge on the evil demon who sired and abused him. When his father devises a plan to bring on the apocalypse, he and his three half-brothers, inter dimensional bounty hunters for the Elden Council, are charged with capturing and delivering their father for punishment.
Art gallery owner Brynn Meyers has no idea that her ability to read memories embedded in objects and drain people of their life force means she has demon ancestry. Unfortunately for Brynn, she's also the key to raising an ancient zombie army, which puts her on every demon's Most wanted List. And no one wants her more than Keegan's father. Keegan must protect Brynn from his father by any means necessary, but he'll have to learn to harness the other half his genetics-the far deadlier, uncontrollable half-when he starts to fall for the one woman standing between him and vengeance he so desperately seeks. the one woman he'll never be able to resist.

I have never really been a huge fan of 'I love you so much even though I just met you two hours ago' type books and this one was teetering on becoming one. Brynn just seem to forgot, well she remembered but she just didn't care, that Keegan kidnapped her, actually he punched her in the face to knock her out than kidnapped her, all cause she was too focused on the hotness of him?!? Mm right not buying it, she tries to escape but forgets it and surrender little too quickly for me, however I did kind of let that bit slide because the two of them were just too cute together. This book had multi POVs (Keegan sibs, their father, etc.) with the main two told from Keegan and Brynn, now I don't really like this majority of the time I prefer it to remain on at least two people  but it worked for this book cause at times it required to see what was going on while Keegan and Brynn were not around. I wished there was something more on Brynn's life instead of it being so heavily around Keegan's and his brothers cause Brynn background was interesting and I would have liked to read more about it. I also found Keegan resistance to Brynn dragged on too long for my liking but the chemistry(and yes sex scenes) between them was great. Overall, I think this was a great start to what I think will be a very entertaining series.

Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they are more than you dream.As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do. Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family. But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him. They want him dead.


Even while Michael came off as a jerk to most people he didn't with me and I'm glad that everyone now can see what I saw from the beginning. This novella tells us the story what happened that lead to the current situation in Storm (see review for story). I felt so bad for Michael in Storm his brothers treated him like he was public enemy number one and all he was trying to do was help them out the best he could at such a young age. Even though we know the story ends on a sad note for Michael and Emily I hope he finds someone in the books to come I feel it would be a very interesting read.

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction... my every desire... mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession.

Eva and Gideon are two extremely flawed people, completely understandable why, that's trying so hard to make their relationship work even with against the odds against them and that's the reason why I enjoyed them so much. I love that they have this love that's so fierce with passion they have for one another while at the same time brings out the deepest insecurities they have making them act out in the worst ways. In this book, Eva tries hard to get Gideon to finally open up about his past and sometimes it comes off pushy but I understand why since she has been nothing but an open book with hers and his reluctance to do so starts to push Eva away and I never understand why he wouldn't just tell her since it's obvious she can relate and she already sort of knows due to his nightmares. As always there are some steamy scenes with Eva and Gideon and I couldn't tell you a best one since they all are H-O-T!!! A very expected appearance, in my eyes, of a certain person happens and it leads to an incident that threatens Eva and Gideon potential happiness and ends the book with you wondering what could possibly happen next and I can't wait to find out! 

Wish that book still wasn't in the TBR pile?

So many great books are released every week and it gets hard to catch up and if your anything like us we have books that sadly we have yet to read. Amanda, have yet to read the last two books by fave authors Stacia Kane's Chess Putnam series and Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series and Amy, has yet to read the last few books to the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill!! We hope we aren't the only ones in a situation like this and if you are, what's the name of book?

Seven Years to Sin by Sylvia Day

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The longer the resistance…

Seven years ago, on the eve of her wedding, proper Lady Jessica Sheffield witnessed a licentious scene no innocent young miss could imagine. Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she’d held her silence regarding scandalous Alistair Caulfield, and walked down the aisle as expected. But through years of serene, unremarkable marriage, Caulfield’s image remained burned into her imagination, fueling very illicit dreams…

                                 …the sweeter the reward
Alistair ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante with the fire of passion in her eyes–all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth she knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years’ worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk–and the certainty that surrender will consume them both…

After I read another book (Crossfire Series) by this author and thoroughly enjoyed it I looked into her other books and since I'm a sucker for historical romance I decided to read this and I'm so glad I did. This story centers around Jessica and Alistair but with side stories told by Jessica's younger sister Hester and Alistair's best friend Micheal and oddly enough I found Hester story more intriging and that's all I will say on that cause I don't want to spoil the story for you. Jess and Alistair had such a great dynamic together and I think that it was a good move that the author let them be together years later when they both matured cause I don't think Alistair would have treated Jess just like another conquest and Jess most likely would not have been strong enough to go against her abusive father wishes. You see Jess finally stop caring about what's proper and, with the help of Alistair, become the sensual person she had longed to be in public and speaking of sensual boy oh boy those two sure did heat up the pages in the book but considering who wrote this book I don't have to tell you how good the sex scenes were because she never disappoints in that area. Even with the typical HEA ending, it still takes you on an emotional ride with all the characters and your disappointed when the story ends cause you want so much more.

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all.The storm is coming.

This was a surprisingly good read I thought it would be an overly sappy instant love type of YA book but it wasn't...well a little but still had a realisticness(is that a word oh well now it is) to teenage behaviors and situations. The POV is told thru Becca and Chris but I think I preferred Becca more cause Chris tended to make me angry due to acting like an overly sullen teenager and I really hated how he treated his older brother Michael, who I personally loved wish he gets more than the short story he had at the end of the book, when he was trying to help the best he could. Let's not forget the other members of the Merrick family, the twins Nick and Gabriel which I didn't like that Nick was just kind of there with no real personality that Gabriel obviously had. But this had the typical boy meets girl and girl meets another boy thus love triangle has been formed but it's really hard to say who is the better guy for Becca cause on one hand Hunter teaches Becca how to defend herself by teaching her Krav Maga, um can we say hotness, but then you have Chris that saves Becca when really needs it the most. I also found the suspense lacking when it came to disguising who the baddie was, I myself figured that out quickly, but still overall I enjoyed this to the point of being very eager to read next installment.

Jane by April Lindner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love? An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

 I have never read Jane Eyre, there I admit it! Even with my lack of knowledge on the literary classic, I think that this modernized version, whose goal is to attract young readers, still keeps the older fans satisfied but I wonder if the story strayed at the end like it did in this book. I felt it was unnecessary, including side characters introduced, offered little to storyline which to me was strong until that point and I think that whole part should have been scrapped. I also wasn't a huge fan of Jane and Nico's  relationship due to the fact that he was way older than Jane, I did think they were great together and  I felt the author tried to make Nico come across as someone near Jane's age and it probably would have worked if the age difference wasn't continuously mentioned through out book. The story moves along slowly til Jane and Nico become a couple which then goes by too fast and then it takes a turn that as I stated earlier was pointless and should have been handled in another way. Even with those little things I had a problem with, this book is very enjoyable and wish it was more for me to read more of Jane's life.

Emma Roberts to play Lena from Delirium umm I sincerely hope she gives the character the justice she deserves since I'm a huge fan of this series. Full article link is below but what do you guys think and do you think this should been a movie or think it will work as a tv show?

http://m.deadline.com/2013/02/emma-roberts-to-star-in-fox-drama-pilot-delirium/

Have you read any Classic Literature?

The 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice is coming up and sadly I, or Amy for that matter, have never read that book *shocked gasps* yeah we know but honestly we weren't the avid readers we are now when we were kids. So recently we have been compiling a list of classic books to read we both seem to have similar lists but our question is what should we have on list as a must read in classic literature or are you in the same shameful boat as us?

A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family's woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother's ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner-and a romance with the local banker-she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she's always called home.

While this was an enjoyable read it was simply too long to get to the point I think it should have been cut at least five chapters and after awhile the Charlotte Miller with the strong personality and do what it takes to take care of her sister and town became extremely irritating by not wanting to acknowledge her family's curse and keeping secrets from those she loves most and it eventually pushes away those she's trying her hardest to help. But by the end of story I was satisfied with the ending so I guess that's all that matters but I still wish the process was several chapters shorter.

First post!

Hello all my Literary Hoarders!! I'm super excited that this long awaited dream of ours has finally come to light, it has been a dream for Amy and I to share our thoughts on books we love (and not so love) with others. Also up here you will get the occasional movie and TV show review since more and more of our beloved books are being turned into either one of those, so go on ahead and become a member cause when we get 50 members a giveaway of epic proportions will happen so tell everyone to become a member!!! Our first reviews will be posted later :-)