White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Published by: Harlequin Teen

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One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

THOUGHTS:

I've read my fair share of Jennifer L. Armentrout books (and we all know she has a ton - I'm starting to think that she writes even while she's sleeping or something), but I wouldn't exactly call them favorites. They're entertaining enough, sure, but I've always thought that they lacked a little something that would put them well above the pack. Despite all this, however, I was really excited to read White Hot Kiss. A fair share of bloggers whom I follow have all professed their undying love for it and proclaimed it as the best book JLA has written so far, and as a result, I had to see whether that was true. Also, the premise is nothing short of enticing - demons? gargoyles? wardens? Yup, I was pretty much sold.

And... I think this is one of the few times wherein I book I read has lived up to all the hype surrounding it. Also, yes, I do think that White Hot Kiss is indeed JLA's best book to date!

JLA did such an amazing job in portraying her female MC, Layla. She's likeable, a character you want to know more about, and a character you just can't help but root for. Layla is half Warden and half-demon, but because she was raised amongst Wardens, (and demons are the Wardens' sworn enemies), Layla was taught to hate half of who she is. Can you imagine that - being raised to hate half of who you are? She was taught to embrace only her Warden half and does everything that she can to stamp out the demon blood running through her veins. Also, despite living with the Wardens all her life, she is, and will always be, considered an outsider. She is ostracized, ignored, and openly considered to be dangerous by the very people she has known all her life. Not only is Layla going through the normal identity crisis that all teens experience, she is also struggling to find out which side of herself she should embrace. Should she continue living as a Warden, or should she give her demon half a chance?

The plot mostly centered around Layla and her search for acceptance, as well as her desire to belong somewhere. All her life, she considered herself a Warden. She has helped kill demons for years now, and her closest ally, Zayne, is a Warden too. While Layla's home life isn't exactly full of sunshine and roses, she's always had Zayne by her side so when Zayne starts to seemingly have no time for her anymore, Layla feels more alone than ever. Not only that, Layla also realizes that there are now demons who seem to know who she is and who want to kill her. All in all, Layla is confused, lost, and alone... and suddenly, here comes a demon named Roth who not only saves her, but also introduces her to everything she was forced to hate in the past.

Roth is everything that Layla was taught to be afraid of, and at the same time, he was what the Wardens were trained to kill. At the same time, however, Roth is also the only guy Layla currently knows that she won't accidentally kill should she kiss him. Ho-hum! The way the romance between Roth and Layla played out is classic Armentrout - the chemistry is definitely there (and believe me, the chemistry is all sorts of intense), and Roth's sharp retorts and witty one-liners sure do keep things interesting. What I liked most about White Hot Kiss' romance angle was how Roth continuously teaches Layla that things aren't quite black and white, and that nothing is as simple as it ever seems. He encourages her to embrace absolutely everything about herself, and to ultimately embrace her strength and her special abilities.

And because I feel like this review won't be complete if I don't say it... Roth is hott. (Yes, with an extra T. Borrowing this bit from Wendy Higgins' Sweet Evil!)

The story was well-paced. It was action-packed, yes, but that didn't distract from Layla's search for acceptance and belongingness, which I consider the biggest plot point of the book. As I have previously mentioned, I also love the romance and how it complements Layla's journey. The world building was spot on. I didn't have the chance to read the prequel, Bitter Sweet Love, before I started White Hot Kiss but Armentrout's world was easy to soak in and get lost into. I can't wait for JLA to explore this world more in the succeeding books of this series!

Perhaps the one thing that I'm a bit iffy about is how JLA is setting up a love triangle between Layla, Roth, and Zayne. Don't get me wrong - I love Layla's relationship with Zayne. I love the easy camaraderie they share, and I just adore how comfortable they are with each other. Heck, I even love how JLA portrayed Layla's love for Zayne. It was genuine, and in those scenes, you really feel for Layla. Anyway, as I was saying, throughout the book, Layla struggles through her feelings for Zayne, which she assumes to be romantic love, but I believe otherwise. I really wish that JLA can just focus on the friendship developed for a good number of years between the two, instead of making everyone go "Team Roth!" or "Team Zayne!"

All in all, White Hot Kiss surprised me... in a good way. This is one JLA book that definitely deserves that 'favorite' label!

Rating: 4 Stars

[Blog Tour: Author Interview] Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

 Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Release Date: April 1, 2014

Published by: Strange Chemistry

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For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Stolen Songbird, I have Danielle on the blog today for a quick interview:

Please describe Stolen Songbird in five words.

Magic, intrigue, romance, adventure, and mystery

Can you please tell us about the research you had to do prior to (or maybe while) writing this novel?

I don’t do any research before I start writing, but I do spend quite a bit of time on Google once I’ve got the story going. Obviously I spent a bit of time thinking about existing troll mythology, but I also spent a lot of time looking into the properties of certain plants for Cécile’s witchy scenes. There are places in the novel that are based on the real world, so I looked up a lot of images for inspiration. My preference is to go back and edit or fill in research-based information after I’ve got the story itself down, because forcing those sorts of details in while I’m drafting often stifles my creative process. Which probably means that it’s a good thing I write fantasy and not historical fiction!

Please tell us more about this magical world that you created.

The bulk of the novel takes place in Trollus, which is the trolls’ city, if you hadn’t guessed from its super creative name ;-) Five hundred years prior to when the novel begins, Trollus was buried by a mountain that was split in half, and only the trolls’ magic kept everything from being crushed. So the city is effectively in a cave, and it’s surrounded by a labyrinth of rock where some nasty creatures called the sluag live.

I've read my fair share of fantasy novels, but I have to admit that this is the first time I've encountered a book wherein the main characters are trolls or part-trolls. What made you decide to write about them?

I was actually inspired to write the story by a dream I had about the setting. The trolls came into being when I started thinking about what sort of creatures would populate such a place, and they really grew and developed as the story went along. They are quite a bit different from the trolls of LoTR or Harry Potter, but hopefully people appreciate my spin on them.

What can we expect from this series? 

My goal was to write a trilogy with a balance of political intrigue, romance, and adventure. If readers are entertained by the story and care about the characters then I consider my mission accomplished.

Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)

Author: Cassandra Clare
Release Date: March 19, 2013

Published by: Simon & Schuster Margaret K. McElderry

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Tessa Gray should be happy — aren’t all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding to Jem Carstairs, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to the Magister, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan of destruction.

He needs Tessa.

Tessa knows Axel Mortmain, the Magister, is coming for her, but not where or when he will strike. Charlotte Branwell, the head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain first. And the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa’s heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, and Will knows he should force himself to find someone else to care for, he is as much in love with her as ever.

In the last words of a dying Shadowhunter reside the clue that might lead Tessa and her friends to Mortmain. But the Shadowhunters of the London Institute cannot stand alone, and in their homeland of Idris, the ruling body of the Clave doubt their claims that Mortmain is coming. Deserted by those who should be their allies and with their enemies closing in, the Shadowhunters find themselves trapped when Mortmain seizes the medicine which is all that is keeping Jem alive. With his best friend at death’s door it is up to Will to risk everything to save the woman they both love.

To buy Will time, the warlock Magnus Bane joins with Henry Branwell to create a device that could help them to defeat the Magister. As those who love Tessa work to save her, and the future of the Shadowhunters that resides with her, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself —for in the discovery of her own true nature, Tessa begins to learn that she is more powerful than she ever dreamed possible. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

THOUGHTS:

I can just hear the gasps of outrage and see the raised eyebrows of disbelief. "I thought you loved this series! How is it possible that you've only read this now, months and months after its release?" I know, I know. See, the reason is pretty simple - I was scared. Since I first cracked open Clockwork Angel one fateful day in August of 2011, I've grown to care so much about these characters. So yeah, even though I got myself a copy of Clockwork Princess the week it was released, I consciously avoided reading it because I couldn't stand the thought of either Will or Jem dying, or Tessa forever breaking the heart of the guy she doesn't choose. Oh wow, even an act as simple as typing out that last sentence is enough to make me want to curl up in a ball and start sobbing - what have you done to me, Cassandra Clare?

Anyway, to cut the long story short, over the weekend, I finally had the courage to pick up Clockwork Princess from my bookshelf, and I settled myself for a good, long read. I prepared myself mentally for what was to come, but really, how on earth do you prepare for something that you just know that will break your heart?

First of all, as always, I have to comment on how Clare's writing blew me away. It has always done so, since I first read City of Bones, but I am struck speechless at how exquisitely detailed the Infernal Devices series is. Everything about it screams 'different time', 'different place', and the amazing thing is, nothing felt forced, nothing felt fake. I never thought, "Oh! I'm reading a book set in Old England which was written by an American ." Nope, nothing like that. Everything was... real. Authentic. The words flowed with ease, and also, though we shift character POV a few times in Clockwork Princess, I had no problem discerning which sublplot belonged to which characters. It's mindblowingly amazing how Clare managed to highlight every character's individuality and at the same time retain that way of speaking that marks them as English. I don't know how she did it, but I sure as heck am not complaining! Despite the serious tones of this last novel, I also loved how Clare managed to keep both Will's and Jem's witty quips and retorts present. Even when smack middle in the dreariest of situations, the fact that Will's dry sarcasm always rears its head never failed to make me smile.

Also, though more than a year has passed since I last read Clockwork Prince, I was transported back to Tessa's England with no problem whatsoever. It's as if I read both the previous books in the series just days ago when it reality, it has been a long time. It was also easy to get back to where we were plot-wise - a war was slowly but surely brewing, and with it, the shadowhunters' were desparate to prevent chaos by keeping Tessa safe; and at the same time, they were hoping to slow down the timebomb that was Jem's life rapidly ticking away. Everything about this book excited me - like any other reader, I had my theories with how everything was going to play out, but not only did I enjoy the numerous and twists Clare had up her sleeve, I also enjoyed absolutely every scene, every interaction before and after we hit the climax. I also found myself caring about all of the main and secondary characters ( I don't think this has ever happened before!) - Will, Jem, Tessa, Charlotte, Henry, Gideon, Gabriel, Sophie, Cecily, Jessamine - every one of them I wanted to emerge unscathed; every one of them I wanted to have his or her happy ending.

This book made me appreciate (even more than I already do) the strong relationship between Will and Jem. Certain interactions (because wow these two have a way with words) actually had to make take a break from reading because I was too overwhelmed with emotions. I know that they're parabatai, and having a good camaraderie comes with the territory, but their brotherhood (or whatever you want to call it) is something else! I know that Jace and Alec are also parabatai, but the relationship between Will and Jem is just in a different level entirely. The way they are so attuned to each other's thoughts and feelings; the way they always put each other first - no one knows Will like Jem does, and no one knows Jem like Will does. I will forever be thankful to Clare for writing such a beautiful friendship that I will never forget.

Usually when I read series with a love triangle, I always end up picking a side to root for (Team Dimitri!Team Jace! Team Gale! Team Adam! Teem Alex!), but for this series... it's simply NOT possible. I love both Will and Jem, and I want them both to be happy. I also love Tessa, and I have never felt frustrated at her confusion between these two boys who love her so dearly. As a matter of fact, I wholeheartedly understand where she's coming from. Before finishing this book, I already knew that I will support and understand whatever decision Tessa makes, and that I did. Throughout the series, I have always admired Tessa's sheer strength of will, as well as her unwavering loyalty to all her friends, and I want her to be happy too. I started this series without rooting for a particular guy to win the heroine's heart, and I ended it just like that.

The ending was just breathtakingly beautiful. I cried at certain parts of the novel, but the tears fell non-stop when I started the epilogue. Everything about this book was wholly satisfying, but the last few chapters, as well as the epilogue, especially so. All loose ends were tied up, and in certain Cassandra Clare fashion, you can't help but have an sudden epiphany of how certain scenes, certain characters' actions, in some books of the Mortal Instruments series now make sense in your head. We were all given a look at how our beloved main characters' lives pan out after the battle with the Magister, and I truly can't ask for anything more.

I was crying my heart out when I finished the last page of Clockwork Princess, and it was for a number of reasons. I was crying because this book was such an emotional read; because the conclusion was just satisfying; and ultimately, because I love this series and these characters so much. There aren't even words in the dictionary to express just how much I'll miss them. I have nothing but the utmost gratitude for Cassandra Clare for creating these characters and this amazing trilogy.

Now I just have to figure out how to get over Clockwork Princess... ;)

Rating: 5 Stars