What the Heart Desires by Kelli McCracken

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Dylan is struggling to come to terms with everything and make sure his child and Heaven are safe. Layne is developing his abilities and struggling with his feelings for Heaven. Meanwhile Heaven is trying to make sure her baby is safe as well as keeping the peace between Dylan and Layne. Tensions rise, and things will quickly come to the boiling point. Will everyone survive or is the power of good going to be defeated? Find the official description on Goodreads.

OH MY GOODNESS THIS BOOK! This book series has been keeping me on my toes but What the Heart Desires takes it to the breaking point! I just.....all the way through this book I was trying to decide if I was going to end up in tears or wanting to growl and groan at someone(preferably a character and not a friend). The plot was interesting, high emotions, and that cliffhanger left me begging for the next book! Or at least the first chapter. I would read the next book chapter by slow chapter if that's the way I had to read it. The shockers just kept coming.

The characters were also developing and your emotions about the characters are constantly in flux. Dylan, Layne and Heaven as well as their families are so difficult to deal with at times and yet you can't put the book down!

I had such a hard time not reading this book all in one sitting, but there was homework to get done and classes to get through. So it was a struggle but I was able to.

If you're a fan of romances with soul mates than you need to check this series out!

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Lily's Temptation by C.C. Michaels

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"But ever since the night the brawny Maddox was rolled into the ER, cussing up a storm and kicking Jack in the nose, the notion of dating and the desire to be with someone has erupted like a forest fire." -C.C. Michaels, Lily's Temptation

WARNING: This book contains mature content. Not suitable for those under 18

Lily is working on finishing her residency. But when a fighter named Maddox comes in, she finds herself trying to avoid breaking rules especially when he looks at her with those eyes. When she finds out facts that may point to Maddox being much worse than she thought, Lily has to decide whether she'll take the chance on him. Find the official description on Goodreads.

The writing throughout Lily's temptation was good. It made the book easy to read, with no difficulty in understanding the things that the author was attempting to convey.

I did notice that I didn't really connect with the characters and that affected how drawn in I was to the book. I did enjoy the characters but that was what they were. Characters. They didn't come to life in the way that only they can. It wasn't hard to read but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I could have gotten some kind of connection with either Lily or Maddox.

The thing that I loved about Lily's Temptation is that it could get really deep. Lily would just have these thoughts and it's like okay, I've sort of had those thoughts except she took them farther. There was a lot of depth in this book and that was one thing I really enjoyed.

And can I say that Lily's Temptation taught me a lesson about judging a book by its cover. It seems to be a lesson you vow to be better at and then completely forget about it or at least that tends to happen to me a lot. And Lily's  Temptation taught me that lesson again.

And then the cliffhanger. That was a doozy. And it definitely encourages readers to find out what happened again. Almost to the point of begging really.

Lily's Temptation was a good read with a lot of depth.

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Escape Down Under by S.M. Phillips

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"Something is wrong and I'm really not sure if I want to hear what it is." -S.M. Phillips, Escape Down Under

WARNING: Not appropriate for younger audiences

Jess broke up with Josh several months ago...but he hasn't seemed to have gotten the message. Meanwhile she's thrown herself into work, determined to get past this. When an oppurtunity comes up to go and work in Australia, it takes very little convincing for her to decide to go. But when she runs into Max, she's less sure of her decision...mostly because she's afraid of crossing the professional boundary. But when the unthinkable happens, will Jess be able to keep herself from going into a tail spin? Find the official description on Goodreads.

The writing in Escape Down Under flowed really well and although it was a different spelling and slang, it wasn't hard to pick up on a lot of the tone behind the words(and if you've watched any amount of BBC, it wasn't hard at all). So that was something that was really well done. There was no confusion and it just all really flowed well.

There were also very good descriptions of incidents. You almost felt as if you were watching it happen in slow mo because you got that good of a description. 

While we get both character's perspectives, Escape Down Under is mostly done from Jessica's perspective which is good because it allows us to have a bit of mystery around Max's actions and thus leave us wondering. But when we did get chapters from Max's perspectives, which we did occasionally, I found myself really enjoying those chapters. Mostly because Max could be humorous but not actually meant to be humorous. So he'd be trying to talk himself out of something and we're like fat chance of that buddy. It was great.

And now I'm just going to mention the ending in general terms(don't want to spoil it for you). But this was actually really, really well done. There was a cliffhanger but at the same time the way the book ended that could have ended the series. Sure, I wouldn't have been happy because I would have wanted to see what happened otherwise but it just had that tone of finality to it. Which was really well done, and it just...yeah.

Escape Down Under was a great read and I strongly encourage you to read it before the sequel Fallen Down Under comes out. 

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Basilisk's Creed Omnibus by Eme Strife

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"She couldn't go just yet." -Eme Strife, The Basilisk's Creed Omnibus

WARNING: Not for younger audiences

Twenty-three year old Eli thought that moving to San Francisco would change her life. It has, but maybe not for the better. Struggling to survive in a world that suddenly makes sense and with a recurring dream that she's not so sure are dreams, Eli is trying to keep afloat. Find the official description on Goodreads.

I'm gonna get what I didn't really like or thought needed work out of the way before jumping into the great things about this book. One thing that I occasionally noticed(more like once in a blue moon) is that while the writing was good for the most part, there were occasional spots where things were choppy or word choice could have been better. But for the most part everything worked, you could read without being suddenly jolted out of the book(unless your phone went off or your alarm). 

We get perspective from both Matt's and Eli's perspectives and occasionally there's overlap between the two. While the dialogue would be repetitive(although we don't really see this as Eme Strife doesn't really include that much of the dialogue in the second perspective) it was a completely different view on the same event. It definitely made you think and allowed you a chance to see why someone was acting how they were. Which kept things moving for sure!

Another thing I liked but also didn't like about The Basilisk's Creed Omnibus is that there were a lot of questions that kept popping up. If you'd get an answer you'd just find a new question. While it was fun and I liked that, I also don't like that? Mostly because I can be curious but than sometimes I'm just like no, I don't want to be. But if you really like having questions that seem to just keep coming than this is definitely your book.

The Basilisk's Creed Omnibus was a good read, and it left more to be told. It released on the 19th of September and you can now purchase it at the following links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo Books.

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Reho by D.L. Denham

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"Reho wondered if there was somewhere he could escape, somewhere to start over." -D.L. Denham, Reho

Earth has been almost destroyed and invaded, the former mostly done by humans and nuclear war, the latter done by an alien race referred to as the Hegemon. Reho is a little bit different from the rest of humanity, even with all of their deformities from the radiation. When he gets the chance to sail away, he takes it and soon finds himself tangled in a web even more complex than he had thought. But there's only one question. Will he make it out alive? Find the official description on Goodreads.

Throughout Reho, we get the past and necessary information when it's needed. And it isn't told in a way that makes it seem as if it's the author trying to find a way to convey this information while staying in character. Instead it's done in a storytelling way by one of the characters or when Reho goes on a mental ramble. The information feels as if it's naturally coming to us and not just because we need it. I enjoyed that aspect of Reho. It was very well done.

Oh, and the writing was very attention grabbing. I was debating on whether I would read and review Reho but when I read the first few pages, I had to keep reading or else I would have been driving myself to madness wondering what was going on. It grabbed my attention and it held it for the most part throughout the book.

The future Earth and everything about it including the invading aliens were all imaginatively created. It was interesting to compare and contrast this new Earth with our Earth. It's not much different in some ways and yet in others it feels foreign. But I think that's what made things interesting. The fact that while it's familiar in a few, and yet there's more to discover about this new Earth.

I'm also going to give you a bit of warning. Throughout the book, the pace keeps going faster and faster until it slides right over a cliff. The ending was well played and I find myself wanting to read more of D.L. Denham's work just to find out what happened and how everything will play out. So, well played Mr. Denham, well played.

The world of Reho is very much dog eat dog, or at least Reho's world seems to be that way. So if you like action, than you are sure to like Reho. Reho  was released on July 31st, so you should go check it out, preview a bit if you'd like to and than purchase it.

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We Are The Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

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Nell and Layla, the two Golden sisters, close as can be. But as Nell enters high school, they start drifting apart. Layla has a secret, one that will destroy reputations. Nell knows but doesn't want to tell because they've always stuck together. But Nell knows its wrong and she can't help but feel like she needs to do something with it. There are so many things going on now that Nell's a high school student and she's feeling the pressure. But will she be able to tell someone about Layla or will it all just blow up? Find the official description on Goodreads.

We Are The Goldens is told from Nell's point of view. I don't usually enjoy first person perspective but in this book it really worked well. You were easily able to see Nell's perspective and develop your own opinions. Not to mention you saw the conflicts she was experiencing. The way it was told, it seemed as if it was a letter, one that you just happened to stumble upon one day. Then there's the fact that the way that Nell adds in certain comments to her telling of events makes you jump to conclusions about the ending.

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