Review of Forever Blue

Forever Blue (Ruby Blue #4)

By Julie Cassar

About:

New love, new magical powers and new threats emerge as Ruby discovers more about who she is to become and why the powers at be want her out of the picture. When the flames of the Fire Court threaten to burn those she loves, Ruby must leap into a fiery battle which could change the lives of all those in Fey and alter the fate of the Royal Courts forever. Secrets revealed and lives hang in the balance in this explosive finale to the Ruby Blue Series.

Source: Goodreads

My Rating: 4.75/5

My Thoughts:
What a lovely way to finish the series. In this book we uncover more of Ruby's hidden talents, confirming that Ruby's link to Fey is no mere coincidence. Although there is not as much ice-cream there's definitely more adventure! The adventures are more fun, and Ruby-Brennan love story is slightly cheesy but fits them well, although I never imagined Brennan could be so gentleman-like.

Ruby's relationship with Brennan gets very serious and I never imagined the surprising ending; no spoilers :P

I am incredibly sad to finish the series but I am just as sure that Julie will write up something even more fun to read soon!

Zed (:

Favourite Quotes:

"Hey, Fairies have a knack for getting people to answer their own questions and make assumptions about certain things just be planting the seed. Humans love to hear themselves talk. Sometimes, planting a hint of suggestion is all it takes for a human to run with the idea and come to their own conclusions..."

"Kansas," he said, staring intently into my eyes, his hand caressing my cheek, "You saved me. Again."
I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "Well...who else was gonna? Can't very well be my forever if you're not around..." I grinned.

Review of Untold

Untold 
(The Lynburn Legacy #2)

By Sarah Rees Brennan

About:It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 5/5

My Thoughts:
Eagerly anticipated and definitely worth the wait. I had forgotten how magical Sarah's writing is. How it can transform even the most serious of conversations into something hilariously funny.

In Untold we see how Jared and Kami behave ever since their link is severed. How Jared can't bear to be around her and how much she misses his presence. Jared wants the link back more than anything else and Kami can't help but think whether he loved the link or her...

The fight with Rob continues, where Rob is gathering as many sorcerers onto his side and trying to take Aurimere from Lilian. At the same time, Kami and her team are trying to find ways to protect themselves, and Kami finds herself becoming more alone and uncertain, now that she no longer has Jared to rely on.

The ending is oh so sad... truly heartbreaking but at the same time I cannot wait to get my hands on book 3!

Zed (:

Favourite Quotes:

"You know what?" Kami said with a grin. "Mrs. Jeffries at the post office tried to slip me a little somethin' somethin' to praise her scarecrow in The Nosy Parker. It's shocking how corrupt the Scarecrow Trials have become. What about honor, Angela? What about the craft?"
"How much did you get?"
"Well, okay, she slipped me some free stamps," Kami admitted. "Still, my first bribe as a journalist. I'm feeling pretty fancy."

"Cambridge?" he said, using his silly nickname for her. "A scarecrow just tried to choke me. I don't wish to seem overly inquisitive, but do you have any idea what on earth is happening?"

"Right," said Rusty. "So you don't have, ah, magic powers anymore."
"Can you stop prefixing magic powers with 'ah'?"
"I'm not ready to drop the prefix," Rusty told her. "If you like, I can switch prefixes. I'm happy to go with 'um, magic powers' or 'er...magic powers.' Whichever works best for you ladies."

"What are you doing?" Angela complained. "Are you trying to make me jog? You know I think people who jog should be shot at midday."
"Why at midday?" Kami asked absently.
"There's no need to ever get up at dawn," Angela told her. "Not even to shoot joggers.

"I only came here because my boy asked me to - and he only asked because he knew it was what you wanted."
"Yes," Kami told her. "This evening was all my dreams come true. I can never get enough of people looking down their noses at me. You do it beautifully. I wish you had two noses, so that you could look at me down both."

"Angela," she whispered, "are you asleep?"
Angela, lying on her back with her eyes shut and her hands folded like Snow White in a glass coffin, said flatly, "Yes."
"Because I'd like to talk about our feeeeelings."
"I wish I was dead."
"Angela, you don't mean that."
"Kami, I do. And do you know why? Because then you might let me rest in peace."

"You're going to Hallow's Field on your motorcycle?"
"Want a lift?"
"No," said Kami. "I mean, you're going into a situation where something really bad might be happening, and you've decided to make sure they can hear you coming? Better hope being a tavern wench works out, because you, sir, will never be a ninja."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Kami said firmly. "But if you have any free classes today, please photocopy some extra copies of the paper and I promise to love you always and forgive you for any evil you ever do. Some say love cannot be bought, but mine is available at this time for anyone with a good heart and the ability to use a photocopier."

"...She was just lying in her crib, because babies are unimaginative like that. And I know people think Angela is pretty now, but none of those people ever saw her as a baby. She was god-awfully hideous. I swear she looked like a bad-tempered mutant tomato, and she was making a sound like a cat being fed into a printer..."

After a few rings, he heard Jared's voice in his ear. "Who is this and what do you want?"
"Is that how you answer the phone to every number you don't recognise?" Ash demanded.
"Ash," Jared said. "Shame. I was hoping it would be a telemarketer. How did you get this number?"

"...Ash should take the ladies because he's charming."
Ash looked pleased. Jared raised his eyebrows.
"Are you saying that I'm not a charmer?"
"You are very dear to me, but you have all the savoir of a wildebeest," Kami told him.
"A wildebeest," Jared repeated.
"A dashingly handsome wildebeest," Kami assured him.

"...And you don't ever have to worry about what I feel. The way I feel about you won't change. You can do whatever you like to me. You could turn this town to dust, burn the woods until they were cinders, you could cut out my heart. It wouldn't matter. It would not change a thing."
"What if I ate a baby?"
Jared's mouth curved up at the corners, slow and not cruel after all. "I'm sure you'd have a good reason," he said. "Such as, babies are delicious."

Quote-tastic #7

 

 

Here is my seventh addition to the weekly meme being hosted by Anna at Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

If you want to join me, please click on the link above. Leave me a link in your comment and I will check out your quotes (:

 

"No," said Kami slowly. "I don't know what I want." She paused. "I thought Jared kissed me tonight."
"You thought?" Angela repeated. "Like, you had a kissing hallucination?"
"It was in the corridor," Kami said. "It was dark. I thought it was Jared but it might-it might have been Ash."

Angela blinked. "Excuse me? Might?"

"One of those mistaken-identity makeouts," Kami said defensively. "They happen."

"Oh, sure," Angela replied. "In Shakespearean comedies, all the time."

"You are full of cruelty and mockery," Kami said. "My heart breaks to think of the day I entrusted you with the fragile flower of my girlish friendship."

 

(Sarah Rees-Brennan, Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)

 

 

 

Review of Hunted

Hunted (Talented Saga #3)

By Sophie Davis

About:

In need of a distraction from her best friend's betrayal, Talia agrees to serve as an administrator for the annual Talent Aptitude Tests. She soon learns it isn't the children who are tested she needs to worry about, it’s the ones who aren't. Life altering choices will be made. Loyalties will be tested. When the war begins, which side will Talia choose?

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 4.5/5

My Thoughts:

*I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
A truly excellent read. I read the second and third books in the Talented saga within just a couple of days and I must say that the books get even better as the series progresses.

As always, the title is fitting because in this story Talia realises the lies she has always lived with and as a result runs away from her 'family.' She also finds out more about Erik's childhood and Donovan's secrets, and beneath it all she realises that she is stronger than she thought.

Zed (:

Favourite Quotes:
"I would be happy to practice with you," I replied honestly, mustering a small smile for her. Happy might have been an exaggeration. But saying, "Anything to make you less bitchy," didn't seem like the best way to start off our new found friendship.

Review of Caged

Caged (Talented #2)

By Sophie Davis

About:
After her brush with death at Ian Crane’s compound, Talia Lyons feels like a prisoner, confined in her childhood home. Plagued with seizures- the result of an unidentified drug injected in her neck by Crane’s men- Talia must put her dream of becoming a Hunter on hold. So when Agency Director McDonough asks Talia to go undercover at the School for the Talented, to find the spy who set the trap for her in Nevada, Talia jumps at the opportunity.

Soon she learns that her new-found freedom comes with a price- working with Donavon on a daily basis. As if that isn’t awkward enough, her former teammate, Erik, also shows up at the School. But at least Talia has the unexpected company of her best friend Penny; to not only assist her in uncovering the spy, but also to deal with the complications that the guys create.

As Talia becomes more entrenched in her assignment, she quickly learns the lengths that the Agency and Mac will go in the name of war. With Crane’s influence spreading, Talia learns that there are few Operatives without ties to the Coalition. Forced to face hard truths and dangerous conclusions, Talia realizes that it is those closest to her who are hiding the biggest secrets. As the task of finding the traitor becomes more problematic, desperation and frustration rule Talia’s world. It becomes clear that Talia can’t do this alone. But who can she trust, when everyone around her is lying?

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 4.3/5

My Thoughts:

*I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Following on from the first book in the series, we see that Natalia is living with the McDonough's ever since her disastrous capture by Ian Crane on her solo mission. Since Talia was captured and did not complete her mission, she did not qualify as being a Hunter, but to top things up, it seems that whatever Crane's men injected her with is causing Talia to have seizure, hence why the director, Mac, is adamant on keeping Talia in his house and refusing to allow her contact with anyone else.

Talia's relationship with Mac strains because he is being so overprotective of her, not allowing her to leave his house until they find the cure to her seizures. However, Mac is sure that there is a spy in their midst, which is why he sends Talia to work at the school as an assistant to his son Donovan, who happens to be Talia's first boyfriend. Seeing as Talia hates Donovan for cheating on her, their constant and petty arguments makes the story more interesting. Soon enough, Talia realises she finds comfort in Donovan's daily presence.

Penny, Talia's best-friend is also working closeby, which makes Talia feel even better, even though her mood swings are becoming more frequent and aggressive. Talia's mission is to find the spy by getting to know the suspect instructors, but she cannot seem to find anything that makes her suspicious of someone as the spy.

Soon enough, Erik and Henri come to the school for the Talent fair, and Talia is confused between her feelings for Erik, and the comfort Donovan provided. Plus, she begins to doubt the TOXIC agency's values, especially what lengths Mac is willing to go to.

Caged was a lovely second book, and I was constantly trying to think who the spy was. At the end, we find out who leaked Talia's mission so that Crane could find her, and it was a real shocker. No spoilers, so read the book to find out more!

Favourite Quotes:

"Overload of emotions? But we just kissed," I said, confused. I thought back to the night on the ledge. Erik was right; he did overstimulate me. I smiled at the thought. Erik was going to have to learn patience. Where was Erik? I frowned. If he was the reason that I was now in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and a breathing machine, the least he could do was sit by my sickbed. A serious talk about his priorities was in our future.

"You can thank me by abiding by the rules set in place." Mac rolled his eyes in a rare show of normalcy. He never did something so human. The gesture told me that he knew the chances of getting me to follow Toxic protocol in the future were slim. While I hated that people begrudged me his special treatment, I rarely let that stop me from taking advantage of it.