It's Friday! Let's Laugh... or at least chuckle a bit.

It's winter. It's cold. It's dark. Let a little laughter light up your winter day.

So, we've all messed up on the job at one time or another... can you beat this???

All you had to do was one. simple. job.

Book Review: A Demon Made Me Do It, by Penelope King

A Demon Made Me Do It
Penelope King

Initial Thoughts: A unique twist to a love triangle that was way cool.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars!

Summary:
Half human, half demon Liora Greyson just wants to survive her final year of high school unscathed, her dark secret intact. But the walls she's carefully constructed to keep people out crack wide open once she meets the sexy and mysterious Kieron Ambrose, and he lights her cold world on fire.

But it turns out Kieron has a few dark secrets of his own. Secrets that will either save or destroy her.

My Thoughts:

Okay, the writing was super, the plot was super, the pacing was super, the voice was super. This was a super read!

The great part about this book is that Liora's human and demon halves really want nothing to do with the other. They despise each other. When one's awake, the other sleeps. And they piss each other off to the extent that they really try to stay asleep while the other one's awake, because what the other one does grosses out the other half. Twisted, right? Right! And so awesome!

Seriously, there were times when one half or the other would really put the screws to the other, and I'd be like, come on, give the girl a break. But that's good, because it means I was invested in the character(s).

Liora's demon half, Lucky, has a best friend named Bones. Oh, boy, I'd love to meet Bones in real life. Is there any cover art for this stud muffin? Too bad he's an incubus in search of nubile virgins every night, otherwise he'd be the yummy stuff boyfriends are made of. But who wants to share? Not Lucky.

Kiernon is cool. I wasn't as attached to him as I was to the other characters. Maybe it was because I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was never quite sure if he'd be good in the end, or bad. In the end it was interesting... but almost disappointing. I wanted more... I don't know .... BANG. I'm not explaining myself well, but read the book and form your own opinions.

The only real issue I had was with setting. I got a little confused. The writing led me to think the setting was approaching winter, gray, leaf-less trees and kind of cold. But then they'd drive an hour into the mountains, and they'd be fishing and having picnics and I think flowers were mentioned. Huh? I didn't get it. 

Other than that, excellent. Definitely put this on your 'to be read' pile.

Cover Reveal and Giveaway! Hidden Magic, by Melanie Crouse

Releases on January 24, 2014

When Jenny has the opportunity to spend the summer with her sister, a small slice of freedom is all she's really hoping for. Instead she finds something else altogether: electricity. That's what Jenny feels when she looks at Arram. She knows he's drawn to her too, but the mage-in-training does his best to hide it. Stung, Jenny turns to Arram's former best friend, Jack. But Arram and Jack's rivalry is much darker than Jenny suspects, and so are Jack's intentions. Soon she's caught in a mystery of old murder, ancient prophecies, and magic hidden where no one has thought to look. When Jenny uncovers a secret magic, she is offered two choices. Arram wants to keep her safe. Jack wants to show her the easy way out. Whatever Jenny decides, her life will irrevocably change. Either way, freedom may be the one thing Jenny can never have.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Melanie Crouse

Melanie Crouse lives in the gorgeous state of Maine with her (usually) delightful family. Look for her next novel Hidden Magic, coming soon. For more information, see facebook.com/MelanieCrouse.author.    

Book Review: Lash, by L.G. Castillo

Lash
L.G. Castillo

Initial Thoughts: Pretty frickin' dang yummy!

My Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!!

Summary:
Decades after being banished from Heaven for saving a life he shouldn’t have, Lash is given a chance to redeem himself. His mission: protect Naomi Duran, a young woman who has lost faith in herself. The assignment proves to be anything but simple when his superiors, the Archangels, withhold key information about Naomi and refuse to restore Lash’s powers. When an unexpected source reveals centuries-old secrets, his trust is shaken to the core, and he begins to doubt those whom he had once considered to be his greatest allies.

Determined to avoid anything that would risk his chances of returning to Heaven, Lash struggles with the greatest obstacle of all—his growing feelings for Naomi. But when her life is threatened by an unknown source, Lash questions the wisdom of the Archangels and his ability to keep her safe.

Soon, Lash will have to choose where to place his faith—in the home he has fought so hard to regain or in the forbidden love he can’t bear to lose.

My Thoughts:

Loved it.

That's really all I need to say, right?

Nah! I guess I have to back up my statement with some facts.

The story opens with Lash being devilishly angelic. Ya know, cuz he's an angel who doesn't like to follow the rules. But you don't hate him for thinking he knows better than his superiors, because he does the right thing for the wrong reason. And when he does the right thing for the wrong reason, well, hell kinda breaks loose.

Oops.

I loved Lash, because he's a good bad boy (and me likes the bad boys, oh so much). And I loved Naomi, the spunky, ain't-takin'-no-shit-from-no-one gal. I loved Lash's best friend Jeremy (um, yeah, let's see a book with him in the lead, okay?) Gabrielle, not so much. Didn't like her. I love when books don't always show angels as purely angelic, like Gabrielle. Some people might not like seeing angels in a poor light - I kinda do, because it makes things seem more real that even good guys (or girls) can be dicks. 

All good all the time is all boring, in my opinion.

Anyhoo, the plot moves nicely, the pacing is nice. While you do sort of know what's happening behind the scenes and how it's all going to play out in the end, it was nice to see all the puzzle pieces fall into place and the true story unfold. I felt so bad for Raphael when his back-story unfolded (I didn't expect that). 

All in all, this is going onto my faves list, and it's a keeper!

Book Review: Charade, by Cambria Hebert

Charade
Cambria Hebert

Initial Thoughts: Started slow, ended well. :)

My Rating: 3 Stars

Summary:
Dying at the hands of a psycho was a shock. Having my life returned to me by an angel was incredible. Being named a Supernatural Treasure and being given Sam as my guard was pretty darn awesome. Acquiring a debt for it all - well, I should have seen it coming. Now here we are, fighting demons from hell, caring for a boy that I just don't trust and traveling to faraway places to return a treasure to its rightful place. Nothing is as it seems. Everyone wears a mask, everyone puts on a charade. It's up to us to separate the truth from the lies and reality from fiction. A hard task when my new reality involves fallen angels, witches and dragons...and did I mention hell? Anchoring me down through it all is Sam. Sam who must face tragedies of his own and is put to the test again and again. If we fail in our task, life as we know it - life as you know it - will end. Forever.

My Thoughts:

As with the first book one, this 2nd book is still simply sweet. For folks who love stories with super-sweet romance, this book is for you. A lot of innocent kissing and hand-holding. You know those couples in high school that can't live for a moment without the other or they're just going "to die!"... ? That's Heven and Sam. 

Again, straight-forward plot, no real surprises except for maybe one. Sam's brother, Logan, just plain creeps me out. And yes, that's a good thing! I like to have some kind of reaction when I'm reading. :)  Oh, and mom's boyfriend? Not good, not good at all, though expected. He was written too creepy to be good news.

Some things didn't make sense for me, like why Cole wouldn't let Heven tell Kimber about him. If Kimber was his girlfriend, that wouldn't be a secret you'd keep, especially when seeing how upset it made her. To me, this was an plot-ploy to move the chess pieces into place.

Loved the Hell parts, as usual!  And not everyone is saved at the end... now *that* is a good thing! Of course, not for the characters... just for us dark readers who like edgy-unexpected.