Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

Stealing Snow definitely has strong shades of Kagawa's Iron Fey series. In fact it is a bit of a mish-mash of quite a few plots, and therein lies the problem. It is trying to be too many things at the same time.

In doing so it inadvertently makes the story a wee bit spiritless. A story without much direction. An explosion of fae, magic and secret worlds beyond hidden boundaries exploding all at once like an erratic glitter-bomb.

Snow has always lived under the shadow of her mental illness. She can hardly remember a time before the institution, pills, needles and restraints. Even her mother seems to be on the side of the hospital staff. The only kind of support she has ever received is from a young man, who tends to try and kill her on his off-days.

She is perturbed by her vivid nightmares. The type the staff tend to give her medication for. Something or someone is beckoning Snow into a new world. A world in which she becomes an important figure in a fae prophecy and dysfunctional family dynamics.

I know Paige has a hive of creativity to unleash and is capable of producing better world-building. I just think she missed the mark on this one.

Buy Stealing Snow at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Beautiful Maids All in a Row by Jennifer Harlow

I have to admit I couldn't decide whether I liked the brashness of the main character. Iris often seems as if she is acting in a TV lifetime movie. Her behaviour, from a professional point of view, is lacking in judgement to say the least.

The way she taunts the suspect is nothing less than risky. A bit like shooting at a charging elephant and missing. Then there is the way she puts an abuse victim in the direct line of a fist, after threatening her first of course.

Overall a shoddy example of someone in her profession. No wonder her peers and colleagues think she is a liability. Of course everyone takes her mental state into consideration after the traumatic experiences she has been through.

The theoretical jump to the suspect is just that, a bit of a jump, which is a little bit of a contradiction to the prior detailed profiling. However the cat and mouse game makes up for her finding the 'link' between the victims.

I can see Iris Ballard becoming an interesting series, even if the main character is constantly like a volcano waiting to erupt. Her erratic behaviour and impulsive choices will make for some colourful and dangerous scenarios. The 'poke the serial killer and make them angry' kind of situations.

Buy Beautiful Maids All in a Row at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

17th till 21st of October: Blog-Tour: The Cosy Christmas Tea Shop by Caroline Roberts

Are you ready for scrumptious cakes, treats, a cup of tea and a delectable read? Well then you must be ready for the Blog-Tour of The Cosy Christmas Tea Shop by Caroline Roberts.

So you can read what my fellow bloggers have to say about The Cosy Christmas Tea Shop just click on the links below. Follow @_caroroberts and @HarperImpulse and look out for #CosyTeashop on Twitter.

17th of Oct at chicklitchloe.blogspot.co.uk
18th of Oct at bookmoodreviews.com
19th of Oct at starcrossedreviews.co.uk
20th of Oct at mmcheryl.wordpress.com
21st of Oct at withloveforbooks.com

Hope to see you here on the 20th for my review of The Cosy Christmas Tea Shop!

Indecent by Ethan Brant

Brant weaves the criminal element of the Yugoslav Wars into the story and life of his main character. Zlatan is recruited from inside a prison cell, but his so-called freedom has a high price.

He essentially becomes the lap-dog of the people who have freed him. They can demand his obedience at any time. To kill, to stalk and to destroy. He is their personal pawn.

Often it seems as if Zlatan is having a dialogue with the reader, almost as if he is asking their opinion or wanting their understanding.

In a way I believe it is him asking the audience/reader to be his conscience. Will we judge him for his violent crimes and complete lack of restraint? Do we understand the fact he has no choice?

Of course the truth is he does have a choice. Perhaps he enjoys the power, the violence and the lifestyle. In fact given the right circumstance he might even be at the top of the pyramid.

The author delves into the murky financial, political and personal motivation going on in the background of the Yugoslav Wars. At the forefront is the criminal underworld, the secret police and the criminals who played a pivotal role in the Wars.

What Brant needs to do is focus his energy a little more, give the plot more direction and give the characters more depth.. There is a lot of potential, and the political and historical context is a minefield with plenty of avenue for exploration.

Buy Indecent at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Today! Blog-Tour: Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz

Today it is my pleasure to host the Blog-Tour for Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz. Cruz brings a lot of understanding and awareness to the topic of illegal immigrants. Read all about it in my review below.

About the author
Melissa de la Cruz is the author of many best-selling novels, including the Blue Bloods series; the Au Pairs series; the Ashleys series; and Angels on Sunset Boulevard. She is also a frequent contributor to Glamour, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter, and is hard at work on her next book.

Connect with Melissa at melissa-delacruz.com, on Facebook or follow @MelissadelaCruz and @HQYoungAdult and look out for #SomethingInBetween on Twitter.

Buy Something in Between

About the book
Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.

For the first time, Jasmine rebels, trying all those teen things she never had time for in the past. Even as she’s trying to make sense of her new world, it’s turned upside down by Royce Blakely, the charming son of a high-ranking congressman. Jasmine no longer has any idea where—or if—she fits into the American Dream. All she knows is that she’s not giving up. Because when the rules you lived by no longer apply, the only thing to do is make up your own.

Review
Cruz draws heavily on her own experiences, family history and personal situation for this story. It gives it an element of legitimacy and the reader may feel more empathy towards the characters.

Jasmine is a hard-working law-abiding young woman, who is on the academic path towards success, It seems as if she has it all when she literally achieves the academic equivalent of a cherry on top of the cake.

She expects joy, pride and excitement, but instead her parents are concerned and apprehensive. Then they burst Jasmine's bubble of perfection. In one fell swoop her life is destroyed and her clear path towards college and career have now suddenly become unobtainable.

As an illegal she belongs nowhere. Legally she technically doesn't even exist in the country she grew up in. She has no rights and no real status. Adieu to her scholarship, her college plans and her happily ever after.

One thing that Cruz explains really well is the general attitude towards illegal immigrants. In fact just the general demeanour towards immigrants, refugees and illegals has become a hot topic in many countries in the last decade. Jasmine feels as if her peers will think she is a criminal, a filthy person and someone they don't want to associate with.

Many people find themselves in similar situations to the de los Santos family. Victims of simple mistakes, bureaucracy, circumstance and often just the fear of the inevitable. Men and women with jobs, homes and children in school. The people next door or across the street.

The courts treat them with contempt and are completely disinterested in the personal tales of these people. No one is interested in the fact they are contributing members of society or can be beneficial to the country. They become numbers, statistics and afterthoughts.

Something in Between mixes important political and socio-economic issues, whilst keeping the general vibe of a young adult book. It is a story that can happen to anyone. People who want to better themselves and their children's lives. They want to give them every opportunity to succeed in life, especially if it isn't possible in their own country. Can anyone really fault them for trying?

Buy Something in Between at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra

Bec Winter is back from the missing, the disappeared and possibly the dead. Well technically she is still possibly all those things, because the woman calling herself Bec Winter is an imposter.

At first becoming the missing girl is just a means to an end and a welcome opportunity to distance herself from her real identity and life.

However the more she learns about the young girl's disappearance the more she feels as if she needs to find out the truth about what really happened.

Did a predator pick her off the streets? Was she taken by someone she knew? Does someone know more than they have previously admitted to?

As fake Bec becomes more comfortable in the role of the 'returned' daughter she starts to get a real notion of how it was before the real Bec disappeared. Of course she also comprehends that the one person who really does know for certain that she is a fake is probably the person responsible for real Bec's disappearance. Will they just ignore her charade or is she a walking risk factor?

Snoekstra manages to bring the creepy and the crazy in equal measure. Nothing is as it seems, and hey prepare to feel uncomfortable at times. Aside from the twist in the story, the author does bring some of the desperation of families in this situation to the table. Those willing to accept a fake instead of having to accept reality.

Buy Only Daughter at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

This is the story of Eva and Lucas and the third book in the From Manhattan with Love series.

I enjoyed the way Morgan left everyone else more or less out of the mix this time. The majority of the book is just Eva and Lucas interacting with each other. Just pure emotions and a lot of conversation.

Eva lives in a happy bubble full of unicorns and candy-floss dreams. As far as she is concerned everything can be healed or fixed with a little love and a lot of food. She is a wee hurricane of chaos and the complete opposite of Lucas.

Lucas has become a recluse since the death of his wife, and certainly doesn't welcome the interruption caused by the incoming storm called Eva.

Eva manages to unintentionally start the great thaw of icy Lucas, which in itself isn't a bad thing except for the minor issue of Lucas not wanting to be warmed up by anyone. The question is whether she can make a tiny crack in the ice around his heart or will this finally be the man to break Eva's deeply ingrained belief in her happily ever after.

It's sweet, savoury and quite delicious in places. Everything you would expect from a story by Sarah Morgan. Exactly the right kind of story in time for Christmas.

Buy Miracle on 5th Avenue (From Manhattan with Love #3) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

You can connect with Sarah online at her website: www.sarahmorgan.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahMorgan or on Twitter @SarahMorgan_

Read: The Christmas Sisters, Moonlight over Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love #6), Holiday in the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love #5) New York Actually (From Manhattan with Love #4), Sunset in Central Park (From Manhattan with Love #2), Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love #1), Christmas Ever After. First Time in Forever. Maybe This Christmas. Suddenly Last Summer or The Notting Hill Diaries, all by Sarah Morgan.

Follow @SarahMorgan_, @HQStories and @HarperCollinsUK