Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade Series)

Before I get into the juiciness of Andrea Cremer's series finale, "Bloodrose", first let me say - HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks. I think it's going to be a fantastic year. We have so many awesome interviews lined up for Authors are ROCKSTARS!, including one with Ms. Cremer. I'll also be participating in the Debut Author Challenge from The Story Siren and I set my Goodreads.com Reading Challenge goal to 100 books. I am determined to make this an awesome year for YA in my life. How about you? Anything exciting planned book wise?

Well I know that Dana B. and Angela who won my epic blogiversary giveaway are going to have an awesome start to the new year. Thank you so much to all that entered. Over 280 tickets involved! You guys ROCK. I'll get back to my monthly giveaways in February, so stay subscribed. I love giving away signed books. Also, be sure to head on over to the podcast. We do signed book and swag giveaways over there as well. :)

Now without further ado... my "Bloodrose" review!

Wow. I finished this book breathing a little heavy with tears in my eyes. After those evil cliffhangers in "Nightshade" and "Wolfsbane", you knew that Ms. Cremer was going to pack a punch with "Bloodrose". What a punch it was too! Seriously. My face still hurts. ;)

Without getting too spoilery, this book will make you so proud of Calla. She comes into her own as alpha and learns how to truly follow her heart. She finds her freedom as a wolf, as a person and as a woman in love. Have tissues ready, folks. The road isn't easy and is full of heart break and angst. I mean come on, that's essential to the recipe of a top notch action packed paranormal YA book, right? It'd be like making chicken noodle soup without the chicken.

Anyways, I personally loved the ending of this series and am excited to see what delicious works of art Ms. Cremer cooks up for us next.

If you have questions for Ms. Cremer, please leave a comment here and I'll include them in our list for her podcast interview on January 11th.

I was provided with an ARC of "Bloodrose" from the publisher, Philomel (Penguin). It is scheduled to be released tomorrow, January 3rd. Set your alarms so you can be at the bookstore at open to get this fabulous series finale.

In My Mailbox - November 27th!

Hi folks! I haven't done this in awhile, but I just had to share because I am SO excited. Seriously, I was so excited that getting my new car elicited less of a happy dance. (Yes, I happy dance. My husband tells me that my dances remind him of Tina Fey's character Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. I take that as a compliment because she is AWESOME. Hehe!)

It's been a quiet few weeks for me as I recover from everything that is going on. I haven't been reading as much as usual (only one book a week.. GASP!), but I'm getting back into the swing of things now.

Anyways... moving on to IMM and me making all of you jealous! ;)


I KNOW RIGHT!?!?! You should have seen my Liz Lemon-esque happy dance when this arrived. I have already dived in, but am trying to savor it which is SO HARD. OMG I WANT TO KNOOOOOW. I am totally a Shay gal, but man... that Ren is getting more and more appealing. Who do you guys like? :) Share your thoughts!

Also - new visitors, be sure to check out my anniversary giveaway prize announcement from earlier this week.

Until next time... ;)

Nightshade and Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

I devoured “Nightshade” and “Wolfsbane” by Andrea Cremer over a period of 48 hours and they were delicious. Seriously, these books are worth staying up late for.. and that’s a big sacrifice considering I have a toddler who thinks 5:30AM is a wonderful time to be awake. What makes them so great? Well let’s review Michelle’s paranormal/fantasy YA romance checklist and talk about it, shall we?

• Strong female heroine - CHECK. Calla is KICK ASS. She not only possesses some awesome powers and skills from being able to transform into a wolf, but she’s a strong willed person. The events of this book rock her safe little world and she has to deal with emotions she hasn’t really experienced. I loved seeing Calla discover her own vulnerability and the injustices in her world’s society. I look forward to seeing her grow more from these experiences in the third book.
• Love triangle (and not one of those “wimpy maybe I sorta like this guy, but this guy is clearly the winner despite guy #2”) - CHECK and it is angst-i-licious. Yes, so much that I had to make up a word for it.
• Creative Paranormal/Fantasy elements - CHECK! I love the world within our world that Ms. Cremer has created.
• Good writing - again, CHECK-A-ROONY. Ms. Cremer’s writing is exciting and fluid. I didn’t ever feel the need to stop because of some bad phrasing or ridiculous situation. She does a great job at foreshadowing without frustrating the reader (a problem I’ve run into a lot recently in YA paranormal books) and she didn’t do any crazy deus ex machina stuff to rush through explanations. She was able to maintain an element of suspense throughout while giving the reader little bursts of knowledge. Well done, Ms. Cremer.
• Great action sequences and suspense - I know I already mentioned this when I discussed the writing, but wow. Ms. Cremer got my heart pounding during some of these big action sequences.

Yeah, so I’d have to say Ms. Cremer’s “Nightshade” series is all that and a bag of chips. If you like paranormal/fantasy young adult romance, this should DEFINITELY be on your list. I know that the genre is an acquired taste, but it’s one of my favorites. I am anxiously awaiting the third book in this triology.

I was provided with an ARC of "Wolfsbane" by the publisher at the ALA Midwinter Conference. "Nightshade" is already available and "Wolfsbane" will be released in July of this year. It is published by Philomel (Penguin). Go to your local bookstore or library and pick up a copy of Nightshade today.