You guys I am so pumped and honored to be on the Starling blog tour!!! Have been a big fan of this trilogy from the start and sadly missing the chance to get on the Venom and Belladonna tours I'm so excited to finally get the chance to "officially" spam you all with my love for this series, and possibly my favorite of the books! If you're a historical fiction lover and not on this bandwagon yet, now is a GREAT time to do so. Why? You'll find all the possible reasons down below! Enjoy!

Starling
by Fiona Paul
Publishing: 3.20.14
Pages: 336
Source: Thanks to FIONA for the copy! *hugs*

In the final book in the trilogy, Cass and Luca are back in Venice trying to find the Book of the Eternal Rose to clear Luca's name and keep them both out of prison. But the hunters become the hunted when the Order of the Eternal Rose figures out their plan. Filled with twists and turns, danger and torrid romances, this novel brings the Secrets of the Eternal Rose novels to a thrilling, heart-pounding, sexy conclusion.

There are my feels everyone. I hope you find this book filled with as much awesome as I did! For more reviews and goodies on this beauteous book check out the full tour schedule here! Now onto the giveaway!
I love this book and I want you to have a chance to win a copy for yourself! Open till March 24th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for stopping by! Spread some comment love for Fiona (& Falco) in the comments! XOXO,

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer
Published: 2.5.14
Pages: 454

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Hate List
by Jennifer Brown
Published: 10.5.10
Pages: 432

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

There are some authors who can write a love story in under 100 pages that makes your heart smile. There are some authors who can instill in your imagination a thirst for adventure. There are authors who can make you laugh until you cry, and others that make you cry until you're dry. But then there are authors who can make you think. Authors who can take a tough subject and make you see it in a whole new light. Authors who can write a book that changes your perspective. Jennifer Brown is one of those authors. Hate List is one of those books.

The subjects presented in this novel are intense, that goes without saying. But the feelings presented, are a whole different ballgame. Val has been through a pretty tough situation. It's not pretty in her brain, that's for sure. And while it's not cheese and sprinkles, it's not dpression-land either. You are sucked into Val's brain from the beginning. You feel for her, sympathize, yearn like she does and want things to be good. Val's healing process is beautiful, and this book makes it wonderfully easy to share it with her.

I really don't know how to talk about this book you guys. The feelings and subjects presented are tough. But they are dealt with in a way that makes you think and feel about it in a good way. It's not a happy story in some aspects, but it's a learning story. One I highly recommend reading if you're looking for a fabulous gritty contemporary.

Content: [Discussion of difficult subjects. Light innuendo. Some language]

This is an oldie, but a goodie! Have youread it? Thoughts? XOXO.

Pwned
by Shannen Crane Camp
Published: 4.30.13
Pages: 248

Reagan West has a perfect life. She’s at the top of the high school food chain as co-captain of the cheerleading squad and she’s best friends with the most evil girl in Albany, Tawny Perez, which means she’s never on the receiving end of her wrath. The only trouble in Reagan’s perfect life comes from the constant threat of her dirty little secret leaking to her fellow classmates and casting her into a lifetime of ridicule. 
Reagan West is a closet gamer and hates her role as the evil cheerleader.
But, as any well versed teenager knows, it’s better to suppress your own nerdy tendencies than to submit to a lifetime of being shoved into lockers and so, Reagan bravely soldiers through life as a reluctant bully… until a boy from her guild moves to her school and becomes Tawny’s next target. The newcomer threatens to reveal Reagan’s nerdy little secret and force her to come to terms with who she truly is. Now Reagan has to decide if she’s going to defend her fellow geeks, or if she’ll continue to be a total troll.

Pwned is undoubtedly one of the funnest books I have ever read. Shannen's humorous storytelling combined with a story and characters that you will love, make for the best three hour read ever! I wanted a book that would be fun to read late at night and this book did it.

This book was very much like "The Summer I Became A Nerd", which I loved. However, despite having the same "popular-girl-who's-a-secret-nerd-and-no-one-can-know" track, it's very much it's own story. With that being said, I absolutely adored the nerdy aspect of this book. Frankly, I'm not a gamer, and I will never be a gamer, so I will never understand what it's like to be a gamer. So I'm intrigued and always curious to read about it. And needless to say it was very fun! I didn't get like HALF the terms but what the heck. It's virtual reality.

Reagan was a fun  character. She has a fun snarky voice that's easy to follow. But within the humor there are lots of insecurities about fitting in and just being yourself. I thought it was interesting to see her being mean to protect herself from being a victim of said meanness. I won't say that there weren't times when I didn't want her to just get her act together sooner and use that backbone. Because there were. But still, the process of Reagan changing and finding herself was like...(let's get poetic here)...a flower opening ittself up to the sun. Just beautiful! (now you Oooh and Aaah)

Of course, like all good chick-flicks there's a romance! And with a nerd romance, it's usually a fellow nerder! And seriously, Parker was like ADORABLE. Okay well that's what you would use to describe a little girl. He was cute and kinda swoony. His character was so much fun to read about. They're nerd relationship was so cute and hilarious and totally awkward like a teenage romance is.

Basically this book is just pure fun. The cast is very fun, the plot is engaging and it's totally got it's share of nerdiness. If you are looking for a quick light read, then pick up Pwned! It'll do the job!


What are your thoughts? Do you like chick-flicks? Will you pick up Pwned? XOXO,

Second Chance Summer
by Morgan Matson
Published: 5.8.12
Pages: 468

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.
Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.
As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

It's official. I don't have a heart of stone anymore. Almost any book can make me cry now. Second Chance Summer is a cry book, and I went into it knowing that, but it didn't change the fact that I found myself sobbing my heart out in the bathroom as I read the beautiful ending. Oh my feels. The wonderful wonderful feels.
Let's start with Taylor. I fell into her shoes right from the start. She has a lovely When we first meet her she's trying to run away. Literally. We find that it's a habit she's developed to get it of and ignore her problems. Throughout this book, I found that this quality, while practically her greatest weakness, connected me to her so much. It was admittedly hard to watch her struggle with numerous relationships, happenings and the like. But at the same time, she goes through so much and ultimately comes out stronger in a beautiful way. Like a butterfly!

I absolutely loved the relationship between Taylor and her Dad. Obviously this book focuses a lot on relationships old, new and broken. I loved it all. Her dad was quirky and fun. His personality and puns made me laugh and just want to hug him. It was really sad as the inevitable ending came closer and closer. Maybe having a dad who I love as much as Taylor does just made this whole situation tug at my hear strings even more. I don't know what, but I just loved him.

One of the biggest parts of the relationships are building back up the fallen friendships and romantic interests that she left behind five years ago. Without a word, without and explanation. There are lots of grudges to be found and it's left unclear what exactly happened until maybe a third of the way into the book. That alone was completely intriguing. I wanted to know what happened. What horrible tragedy made her lose her first crush and best friend. And it was sad, and while a part of me felt it was a LITTLE hypped, I'm glad that Lucy and Henry weren't horrible about it.

They were kind of awesome actually. It was Taylor who had to get the heck over what happened, but once she made up I just loved them all to death. Lucy is a funny best friend who know how to have fun and make any situation fun. She's just fun okay?! And Henry, sweet boy is your typical crush, handsome...strong with a weakness and a nicely sized spoonful of swoon factor. It all works.

Morgan's writing is beautiful! Her descriptions of places and feels and characters were done so well, and being inside Taylor's head just works. You connect instantly and just FEEL for Taylor. FEELS are everywhere. There's one style of Morgan's that is really obvious though. And it's funny how often it showed up that I wanted to mention it. It's not bad at all. I just thought it was interesting. Morgan uses a lot of flashback. She'll set a paragraph or two for the current scene and then jump back in time and play up to that moment, or a previous moment that relates to the current scene. Then we jump back forward in time to current scene and it proceeds on. It was all done so well that it worked flawlessly. But being a writer, it's always interesting to notice the different styles portrayed.
Obviously we all know that the end of the book is a sob fest. It's touching, painful, sweet, heart-wrenching and ALL THE FEELS. All the beautiful feels that make a book so wonderful. I love a good cry book and sitting there sobbing my heart out with Taylor was like a good cleanse. #random. But it needed and Taylor came out stronger for it.

So all in all? The feels the characters the sweet story and EVERYTHING just worked in this book. This is the perfect summer read if you are looking for one.

Content: Mild
[as far as I remember, some mild language and kissing]
ALL THE FEELS. What are you feels on the matter? You agree? You disagree? You agree to disagree? Let me know! XOXO,

Published: 5.7.13
Pages: 326
 

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.
Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Let The Sky Fall
by Shannon Messenger
Published: 3. 5. 13
Pages: 416

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is. Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life. When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them. 

Inky's Blurbings:
Oh my goodness. This was an amazing book. I've been anticipating this windy day romance for-like-EVER, and boy did it live up to my expectations. It was beautiful, engaging, and romantic with a side of swoon. Everything I ask for in a book.

The story is told from the perspective of our dual narrators Vane and Audra. Audra is a sylph, an air elemental who also happens to be Vane's guardian. She's got a pretty broken past, and her character is pretty rough to begin with. And let me just say, I absolutely loved her. Her flaws, her problems, her sarcasm, her strengths. It was so awesome watching her breeze by as she changed and hit walls and began her path to redemption. What's especially cool, at least to me, is the other fact that she's Vanes guardian. FOR ONCE,  it's a girl. Okay, so maybe it's more common then that, but seriously. Audra is a force of nature! Pun intended. Hands down, I loved her.

Vane, our second narrator, is also kind of AWESOME. He starts out on a very different level, and page than Audra, but he's still so amazing! He has to take in a lot of information, and his emotions went back and forth quite a bit. Yet, it worked. Both of the characters share quite the emotional roller coaster and it made them stronger and just endearing in a way. I could totally FEEL them. But back to Vane. He was also, a teensy by hot. Okay a LOT. I loved him. His thoughts cracked me up quite a bit. And with Audra they are the BOMB!!! Or should I say, a TORNADO? Seriously! The romance picks up and there's already been a sort of connection between them and it just grows into something, ahem, swoon worthy. I loved it all.

The story itself is one that isn't very action packed from the start. It's a quiet build that crescendos into an epic finale. So if you're looking for an action packed story, this isn't the one you need. However there is lots of internal conflict and as said, that build of conflict is enough to keep you on your toes. I will tell you that I wasn't officially grabbed until maybe 40% in. I really liked it but when that crescendo hit, I was never gonna be going back again. By the end I was so hooked into the story I couldn't stop. Not to mention It was late at night and I didn't even start to get tired, like I normally do. My whole brain was engaged. And the END. Wow. My heart, shall I say, felt attacked by a whirlwind? More revelations, swoonyness, action and just awesome. I love it. Shannon had a great style of writing, that is unique, while not being overly strange or hard to read. It's quite easy to slip into the shoes of Vaudra. [yes I just gave them a mash name].

So...have we learned anything from this review? I am GONE WITH THE WIND over this book. I don't even know if that pun works but whatever. This book picked me up, I start on a small breezey draft and then I flew into the tornado. It was awesome. Needless to say I am pining for book two. I can't wait 11 months FOR MORE VAUDRA. The ending, while not a cliffhanger was still wrenching in a way. *flails* Okay, I'll shut up now. Bottom Line: GO. READ. THIS. BOOK. Now.

Content: Mild
[a few instances of light language and innuendo. A few kisses.]

Aaaack! So it's obvious I loved this book. But what about you? Share you thoughts! I'd love to hear them! XOXO,

The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey #1)
by Richard Paul Evans
Published: 8.9.11 by Simon Pulse
Pages: 326
*read a LONG time ago*

My name is Michael Vey, and the story I’m about to tell you is strange. Very strange. It’s my story. To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers. Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive.

Inky's Blurbings:
It's been a while since I read this book, but one thing stays the same. I loved it. I'd read some of Evans's other books and really liked them. So I was psyched to hear about this new book, his first specifically FOR YA! Boy did it deliver. Everything about this novel deserves and A+.

For one thing, he can write. His words suck you in till you literally can't tear your eyes away or stop turning pages. From page one you are hit with this story that blows your mind. The twists and turns and idea behind this novel are phenomenal. Electric. I was so into this book. I've read sci-fi before, but this one was just IT. It had everything. An AMAZING BAD GUY. A crazy good plot/society/goal/etc. Side-kicks you love, humor, a fabulous MC, and a dash of romance. It's like a recipe for awesome.

Michael is told in 1st person, but occasionally you'd get a chapter snippet told in 3rd from the Villin's perspective. But it wasn't totally out of there. The way he places these little bouts made the book a whole lot more interesting and brain-glueing. :D Michael, the MC, felt real, alive and legit. He had weaknesses, physical and emotional, and his voice stood out.

Honestly guys, if you pick this book up you're in for a ride you won't want to put down, or forget. So just go buy these books. :D

Content: CLEAN READ!

Thoughts? Do you like RPE's books? Have you read this one? Do you want to? Sci-fi anyone? Review of Book 2 to come soon! XOXO,