Book #32: The Temptation

Title: The Temptation (Book #6 of The Secret Circle series)

Author: "Created by L.J. Smith. Written by Aubrey Clark"

Date started reading: April 09, 2013
Date finished reading: ------

Publish date: March 2013
ISBN: 9780062130471
Number of pages: 277

Official summary: "It's always darkest before the dawn. Cassie hasn't felt this alone since she moved to New Salem and joined the Circle — the closest thing to a family she's ever known. But now that the Circle has been possessed by powerful evil spirits, Cassie is left with no choice but to turn to her dark side to rescue them. As she struggles to get through to her friends and her soul mate, Adam, she finds an unexpected ally — one who will tempt her more than ever before. With her enemies quickly closing in, Cassie fights to keep her heart true and her soul pure. But she knows better than anyone that all magic comes at a price, especially when Black John's Book of Shadows is involved. Will Cassie defeat the darkness once and for all ... or will the Circle be lost for good?" (http://www.epicreads.com)

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered from Barnes & Noble $13.92 using a giftcard I earned through Plink.com.

My commentary:

• I've read somewhere that this book is supposed to be the final one in the series. That's probably for the best. I really liked the last two that Aubrey Clark wrote, but this one sort of dragged on and I am glad there probably won't be another one that I'll feel like I need to read because I'm invested in the series. Clark wrapped things up too nice with this book. I wish it wouldn't have ended with a happy ending. The happy ending was too predictable.
• I really wanted Cassie to end up with Nick instead of Adam. The whole soulmate principle in L.J. Smith's world pisses me off sometimes. I wish Clark would've went against that.

Memorable quotes:

• "What could be worse than needing someone you couldn't stand, someone you literally never wanted to see again?" ~ Cassie
• "My Circle is my destiny." ~ Cassie
• "Sometimes bodies could communicate in a way language couldn't Adam's mouth on Cassie's said all there was to say." 
• "I guess you're all I have left, Cassie. You're my only chance of saving myself. How's that for pathetic?" ~ Scarlett
  "We're each other's only chance, Scarlett. Pathetic or not." ~ Cassie
• "Cassie had changed in the past year. She'd grown up. Being a witch was normal to her now, and there was no going back. A regular life would never be enough anymore, even if it would be easier."

Buy on Amazon.com: The Secret Circle: The Temptation

Book #31: Blood-Kissed Sky

Title: Blood-Kissed Sky (book #2 in the Darkness Before Dawn trilogy)

Author: J.A. London

Date started reading: April 08, 2013
Date finished reading:  April 09, 2013

Publish date: December 2012
ISBN: 978-0062020666
Number of pages: 368

Official summary: "She has awoken. ... Denver is in more danger than ever before. Sin is no where to be found, but his Day Walkers run rampant. A new threat rides into the city, and demands Dawn's immediate surrender. And the one person she needs to rely on, Victor, is learning that being the new Lord Valentine requires sacrifices from him ... and from humans. Dawn is certain she'll find answers, and the city's salvation, in another land. With old friends Tegan and Michael and new allies — Richard, Faith, and legendary vampire hunter Ian Hightower — she must travel by the Night Train across the country, heading toward Los Angeles, the place Sin once claimed he was from. But the journey is perilous, and the city holds its own secrets. ... And what of the nightmares that are haunting her? Will they vanish with coming day, or will they drive her to the brink of insanity?" (http://www.jalondon.com)

How I obtained the book: Bought for $8.71 from Amazon using a giftcard I earned (basically free) through Plink.com.

My commentary:

• This series really deserves much more attention than it gets. I may have started reading it just because the covers are pretty, but the story is great, and I would recommend it to anyone.
• I am annoyed at how I've seen some people on Goodreads griping about how this series has "ripped off" the covers of Lauren Kate's "Fallen" series. It's not "ripping" it off. The authors are just using artists who use the same photographer's stock photos on DeviantArt. Frankly, I love the covers of both series. People just need to chill out. 
• SPOILER ALERT: I was really afraid that the series would do the typical thing and turn Dawn into a vampire simply because she had fallen in love with Victor, a vampire. But the way the authors went has totally made me happy. Dawn is a dhampir... part human, part vampire. Her ancestors were a family of vampires that could mate with humans, and the other vampire families tried to kill them all off, but they didn't kill them all off. Until Victor had to drink Dawn's blood to live, Dawn was basically just human, but his bite woke up the vampire blood inside her, so that's why her and Victor have the bond they have. It's a plot twist I didn't see coming, and I can't wait for the next book to find out how things turn out.

Memorable quotes:

•  "Right now I feel like Dorothy awakening after her trip to Oz. Only I didn't follow the yellow brick road. Victor took me down a rabbit hole into the darkness of the vampire world." ~ Dawn
• "I've always thought that if I bury my feelings now, I can dig them up later when I have time to deal with them." ~ Dawn
• "That is strange because vampires are not normally emotional creatures. Not when it comes to matters of the heart." ~ Faith
  "I disagree. I believe vampires can love. Deeply." ~ Richard
• "You bring out the monster in me, Dawn." ~ Victor
• "I don't understand. It's like your blood is a drug that overpowers everything else. I want you, Dawn." ~ Victor
• "(Michael is) such a decent guy. Why couldn't I have loved him enough? It would certainly have made my life simpler, but apparently my heart isn't looking for simple." ~ Dawn
• "We're not paranoid. We're alert. There's a difference." ~ Dawn
• "Do you ever feel like we're caught in a whirlwind? Sometimes I just can't catch my breath." ~ Tegan
• "Quite honestly, I'm getting tired of vampire demands." ~ Clive
• "I've never understood this immense attraction between us, but it's been there from the beginning. Even when I was with Michael, something about Victor called to me. It filled me with guilt all the time, and that aspect hasn't diminished. He's pure temptation, an apple I shouldn't bite." ~ Dawn
• "I want you. I want your body, your blood. You. All of you. You affect me as no one else ever has. No vampire. No human. Sometimes I think I'll go mad with wanting. But I know if I give into my desires, it'll destroy what you are, and being responsible for that will destroy me, too." ~ Victor to Dawn
• "Love is supposed to make you feel wonderful and alive. Victor's parting words, his conviction that he loves me, did make me feel all those things. But it also left me with a sadness because he had walked away from it. I don't know if I can." ~ Dawn
• "The idealism found in youth can quickly fade once power is obtained. Even for a vampire." ~ Ian
• "True vampire love comes along only once in a few thousand years. Some think it doesn't exist, but I disagree." ~ Richard
• "Sometimes I think vamps know less about themselves than what we know about them." ~ Dawn
• "I didn't realize cowardice was a virtue." ~ Ian
  "You have become a soldier without a war." ~ Matheson
• "I guess I never thought we'd be facing a worse enemy than vampires." ~ Michael
• "It doesn't always have to be you making the sacrifices." ~ Michael to Dawn
• "Your veins are singing the song of Montgomery. They are singing the song of vampire." ~ Octavian to Dawn
• "I'm human because everything about Sin repels me. His desire to destroy an entire race of creatures -- vampires who can walk only in the night -- is too horrible to contemplate. There has to be a way that we can all live together: vampires, Day Walkers, humans. Not one of us is better than the other." ~ Dawn

Buy on Amazon.com: Blood-Kissed Sky: A Darkness Before Dawn Novel

Book #30: Neferet’s Curse

Title: Neferet’s Curse (Third companion novella to the House of Night series)

Authors: P.C. and Kristin Cast

Date started reading: April 6, 2013
Date finished reading:  April 7, 2013

Publish date: February 2013
ISBN: 978-1250000255
Number of pages: 160

Official summary: "The White City, 1893: In turn-of-the-century Chicago, with the World’s Fair bringing bustle and excitement to her home city, sixteen-year-old Emily Wheiler should be reveling in her youthful beauty and the excitement around her. But her whole life changed when her mother died, leaving her to be the Lady of Wheiler House. Her father, a powerful bank president, is at the center of an important social hub for the booming young city, and he needs Emily to do everything her mother would have – to be a good hostess and make sure the mansion runs smoothly. As Emily uneasily tries to replace her mother, she also longs for more… for love and a life of her own. When a handsome young man notices her at one of her father’s parties, it seems that her hopes may finally be coming true. Until her father forbids her to see him – or any other man – and starts revealing a darkly violent side that even he can’t understand. At last, afraid for her life and with nowhere to turn, Emily is Marked by a vampyre and brought to the Chicago House of Night, where she begins a magickal new life that should allow the wounds from her past to heal. But as she gains strength, and a powerful new name, she carries a dark need to wreak vengeance on the man she trusted most. From victim to High Priestess, beautiful young woman to powerful seductress, Neferet’s journey begins in NEFERET’S CURSE… (http://houseofnightseries.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Checked out of library

(Random note: It took me about eight weeks to finally return this to the library. I kept renewing it over and over again even after I  had finished it because I was too lazy to drive over to the library. Life got in the way of returning it. That's just something I wanted to remember. Feel free to ignore this information.)

My commentary:

• These novellas are written so much better than the books in the true series. I wish all the House of Night books were written this well. The novellas seem to be more sophisticated and less immature.... and well, don't have the annoyance of Zoey's character.

Memorable quotes:

• "I know my thoughts are not precious jewels. I have begun to suspect my thoughts are quite mad. That is why I feel compelled to record them. It could be that in the re-reading, sometime in the future, I will discover why these horrible things have befallen me. Or, I will discover that I have, indeed, lost my mind." ~ Emily
• "You should never stop laughing. When you do, your beauty changes from extraordinary to divine and you look like a goddess come to earth to tempt us with your untouchable loveliness." ~ Arthur to Emily
• "It had seemed that I was a princess who finally found her prince." ~ Emily about Arthur
• "Whatever this new life as a fledgling and, I can only hope, a fully Changed vamprye brings me, I make one promise to myself: I will never allow anyone to gain control over me again. No matter the cost -- I will choose my own fate." ~ Emily

Buy on Amazon.com: Neferet's Curse: A House of Night Novella

Book #29: Heaven

Title: Heaven (Book #3 in Halo series)

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Date started reading: April 3, 2013
Date finished reading: April 6, 2013

Publish date: August 2012
ISBN: 978-0312656287
Number of pages: 432

Official summary: "Bethany, an angel sent to Earth, and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier, have been to Hell and back. But now their love will be put to its highest test yet, as they defy Heavenly law and marry. They don’t tell Beth’s archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, but the angels know soon enough, and punishment comes in a terrifying form: the Sevens, who are rogue angels bent on keeping Beth and Xavier apart, destroying Gabriel and Ivy, and darkening angelic power in the heavens. The only way Bethany and can elude the Sevens is to hide in the open, and blend in with other mortals their own age. Gabriel and Ivy set them up at college, where they can’t reveal their relationship, and where there is still danger around each corner. Will Bethany be called back to Heaven – forever – and face leaving the love of her life?" (http://us.macmillan.com/)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Bought for $8.98 through Amazon using a giftcard I earned through Plink.com

My commentary:

• Before having sex for the first time (without protection), Xavier tells Bethany, "I'll be careful." As I read this, all I could think was, "Famous last words of every boy who becomes a teenage father."

Memorable quotes:

• "That is when you need faith the most. Not when everything is going your way, not when you have much to be thankful for, but when there is darkness all around."
• "If you try to use Christ as a solution to your problems, it will not work. You have to serve Him in order for Him to serve you." ~ Gabriel

Buy on Amazon.com: Heaven (Halo Trilogy)