Book Review: Dream Eyes

Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz

Publication Date: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Source: Library

Synopsis (Goodreads): The death of her friend and mentor, Evelyn Ballinger, brings psychic counselor Gwen Frazier back to the small town of Wilby, Oregon, and brings back memories she would rather forget. Two years earlier, a killer stalked the members of one of Ballinger’s research studies including Gwen. And though she survived while two others didn’t,  Gwen knows that Ballinger’s death is related.

Sent by a friend to help Gwen, psychic investigator Judson Coppersmith arrives in Wilby barely in control of his own talent and his own life, haunted by urgent dreams. His attraction to Gwen is primal, but there are secrets he must keep to protect himself from surrendering to her completely, even as their investigation draws them into dreamscapes, into decades of deception, and into the paranormal fires of a desire too strong to resist. . .

Personal Thoughts: One thing I’ve noticed with Jayne Ann Krentz lately is that she does a lot of cross over between her pseudonyms Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick. She goes from the 18th century under one name to the 21st century under another name with the continuation of the same story. It is interesting to see how the story develops over several books. I’ve never seen an author do this before.

I had a great time reading this book  and seeing Judson try to fight his attraction to Gwen. There are a lot of trust issues in this book and it was good seeing how the author made them be resolved in the proper manner. It didn’t happen to early or too late in story. It was fascinating to hear about the mirror machine and how it worked. I loved the connection at the end of the book, which I won’t say here just to not spoil it.

There was a lot of action and adventure throughout the book which kept me on my toes until the end. I was expecting one bad guy but it ended being someone else entirely and I loved the plot twist. 🙂 Great work Jayne.

I heard that she is already working on another book and I can’t wait. I know that it will be a while before there is a title/summary and even longer before it comes out. However I am just happy to know there is more adventure on the way.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Waiting on Wednesday: If I Should Die

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Harper Collins

Synopsis (Goodreads): I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Personal Thoughts:

I loved Die for Me, the first book in the series and although I haven’t had a chance to read the second one, I’m excited that the next one is coming out.  I love Kate and Vincent as characters and I want to see where they are going to end up.  The cover looks fantastic with the Eiffel Tower in the distance and the gold colors surrounding the girl. It looks beautiful 🙂

Top Ten Tuesdays: Top 10 Series I Need To Start But Haven’t Yet

It’s Top 10 Tuesday  which is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish and the topic is:

Top 10 Series I Need to Start But Haven’t Yet 

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

I wanted to read this series for the longest time. It had a lot of hype around it when it first came out and I decided to wait until the hype died down a bit. I saw the movie when it came out and it made me want to read the books even more.      

The Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano

I read Wither and I loved it. I waited for Fever to come out and when I picked it up, I wasn’t impressed. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the last one and I will be getting to it soon, but I my TBR list is ridiculously long so it might take a while.

   The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

I’ve read Iron King and Iron Queen and thoroughly enjoyed them. It is just taking a bit of time in between to actually get to the next one. I think my problem might be that I read too many series books and I don’t want to read one series and ignore the other. 🙂          The Matched Series by Ally Condie 

I haven’t been able to pick up any books in this series but really want to get my hands on it. It sounds so good. 🙂 

   Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

Another great series that I am missing out on. I think there are too many awesome series coming out within a short span of each other, therefore, there is not enough time to read one before diving into another. Haha. The plot lines sound awesome, the characters kick ass and some of the covers blow you away.

    The Mara Dyer Series by Michelle Hodkin

I know, I know, this one has been out for a while. I’ll be getting to it one day.

  The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater

This is another series that has been getting a lot of attention and reviews. There’s wolves and other things involved as well. 🙂

  Delirium Series by Lauren Oliver.
This one I have heard a lot about and it sounds so interesting. Another one that has been sitting on my TBR pile.

  Castor Chronicles Series by Kami Garcia.

    The movie already came out, yet I don’t want to go see it before I read the series. The trailer looked awesome and there have been rave reviews for this series.

  Eve Series by Anna Carey

This series sounds like it will be packed full of adventure, action and romance. The covers look fantastic as well. This makes me wonder why I haven’t picked it up yet.

When I stop adding books to my TBR thanks to Goodreads great features, that is when I will be able to finally catch up on all my favorite and anticipated reads. Unfortunately, there are so many good books out there that are coming out each month or even several within one month, that I think I’ll always have a massive list. :-p

Waiting on Wednesday: How I Lost You

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler

Publishing: May 1, 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Goodreads: (Synopsis):  There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected–

Personal Thoughts: I loved If I Tell  and I hope this upcoming book will be just as good. I am currently reading her other works, and loving them as well. There is just something about Gurtler’s writing style that takes a hold of you and won’t let you go. It is both realistic and enjoyable to read. Come on May hurry up already so I can see how great this book is 🙂

2013 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge

The 2013 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge is being hosted by The Book Vixen. This is one genre that I read on a daily basis and enjoy thoroughly.  I’ll definitely enjoy participating in this challenge. If you want to join in the fun and sign up for the challenge, see the details below and head on over to The Book Vixen to sign up. 🙂 Happy Reading!

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013 (books read prior to 1/1/2013 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read at least 10 contemporary romance novels. As per Pearl’s original post:
  

  “by contemporary romance I mean straight contemporary, so without paranormal, fantasy or time-travel elements. Sexy, steamy contemporaries are eligible and so are category romances. (i.e. Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Super Romances, Silhouette Desires, etc.).”

  I’m going to elaborate on this a bit just for the sake of clarification: Books read for this challenge can be young adult, new adult, or adult. This reading challenge is specifically for romances between a hero and a heroine. Romances with the following elements do not qualify for this reading challenge: paranormal, historical, time-travel, fantasy, science fiction, or mystery/suspense/thriller.

• Books can be any format (bound, ebook, audio).
• Novellas that are at least 100 pages in length, as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! Here’s to a great upcoming 2013 year. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year 🙂 Have a great time ringing in the new year. It has been a great year for me and I know that greater things are going to be happening next year.

Although I have only been blogging  since August, I feel like it has been a lot longer. I have discovered new blogs, amazing people and I do what I love doing, reading and writing. I’m hoping to blog daily in the new year and start doing some tours/ hosting as well.  It’s been great following and reading everyone’s blogs and seeing your perspective on the covers and the books. Thank you for following my blog. See you next year!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Published: June 4, 2013

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The Time Traveler’s Wife meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in this story of a time-traveling serial killer who is impossible to trace–until one of his victims survives.
In Depression-era Chicago, Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women, burning with potential. He stalks them through their lives across different eras until, in 1989, one of his victims, Kirby Mazrachi, survives and starts hunting him back.

Working with an ex-homicide reporter who is falling for her, Kirby has to unravel an impossible mystery.

THE SHINING GIRLS is a masterful twist on the classic serial killer tale: a violent quantum leap featuring a memorable and appealing girl in pursuit of a deadly criminal.

Personal Thoughts:  When I read this synopsis, I was caught and knew I had to read it. It has everything I could want: romance, action, history, all rolled into one. I  know there will be juicy action bits and the love interest will spice things up. I can’t wait to read it and find out why there is a fly on the cover. I know that it is symbolic of something, but the what is driving me crazy.  The only down fall to this waiting game is that this book doesn’t come out until JUNE! Can’t they change it to January? Or wait, maybe this was a typo and they meant to put down January instead of June? Oh well, one can dream.