Book Review: Sacrificed (Ignited Book 2) by Desni Dantone

Title: Sacrificed
Author: Desni Dantone
Series: Ignited #2
Pages: 346
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Kris Young is no normal seventeen year old.

She’s the worst thing to come along since the black plague, and she will do anything to alter the destiny she was made for. Failure is not an option. But if the shadows of evil overcome her…

Only one person can stop her.

When she meets Micah, she doesn’t expect him to save her life, or to offer his help. They were born enemies after all. Though he boasts noble intentions and a belief that, together, he and Kris could swing the tide of the war to the side of good once and for all, Kris can’t help but suspect that he is hiding something.

They have a plan…

Strengthened by new allies, Kris and gang take their fight to the Skotadi. As they discover shocking secrets and grow closer to learning of the evil-doers ultimate plans, Kris worries that time has run out. Struggling with her inner demons, she does the only thing she can to protect the ones that she cares about most, even if it tears her heart in two.

Question is, where will her heart lead her?

Miss Dantone really blew me away with Ignited, so I had pretty high expectations for its sequel. I am extremely pleased to say that she did not disappoint!!  Sacrificed was just as good, if not better than the first!

Kris is a pretty no-nonsense girl that somehow manages to get herself involved in a lot of drama. At times, I think she may just be a drama magnet. Somehow, not one...not two...but three, yes three, guys waiting in the wings. So, obviously there is quite a bit of drama in this book, which, of course makes it super interesting!

In addition to the boy drama Kris faces, there is also the drama that goes along with being what she is. Along with this revelation, new twists and turns keep coming up. I really love where Dantone is taking the story, it's really exciting! So far, I love this story and cannot wait to read book 3!!

"Awesome. Just what I wanted to be - the weirdo in a herd of black sheep..."

"It was a little unnerving, Alec being quiet. I wasn't used to it."

"If anything could stunt the despair brought on by the events of the last thirty-six hours, it was bacon."

Book Review: Ignited (Ignited Book 1) by Desni Dantone

Title: Ignited
Author: Desni Dantone
Series: Ignited #1
Pages: 344
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Seventeen year old Kris Young is on the run from a throng of superhuman golden-eyed freaks hell-bent on seeing her dead, and she doesn't know why. Good thing she has her guardian angel to protect her...sort of.

Kris is aided by Nathan, the mysterious man that ends up being anything but angelic when he rescues her for the fourth time in fourteen years. Even if the handsome hero illusion is shattered by his harsh treatment of her, he knows how to fight this strange enemy and is determined to keep her safe at all costs.

As the body count rises in their wake, Nathan introduces Kris to a world in which not everyone is human and the battle lines between good and evil are clearly drawn. Kris's piece in the puzzle is something neither is aware of and, as they uncover the truth, neither is prepared for what they find. Overcoming twists and revelations that shatter both of their lives, they discover that nothing is as it seems and nothing, least of all their hearts, are safe.

From debut author, Desni Dantone, Ignited is the first novel in a tale of first love, mystery and adventure that will introduce you to an exciting new world as Kris discovers how she fits in it.

Ignited grabbed me from the first chapter and refused to let go. It appears that it still has a hold on me, since upon finishing it, I immediately had to start the second book, Sacrificed!

Kris has been through a lot in her life, and somehow despite all of the hardships she has been through, someone always seems to save her. Her guardian angel, or so she believes. When she gets into another sticky situation, her "guardian angel" has no choice but to once again save her life. Only, this time he can't just leave her, and instead must take her with him. 

At first, Kris is thrilled, she finally gets a chance to ask her mystery man some long overdue questions. She soon learns however that her guardian angel isn't much of an angel. Instead, Nathan turns out to be infuriating, he just barks orders at her and hardly ever smiles. Being the queen of sarcasm, Kris, pushes his buttons to no end, and absolutely loves it!

The bickering between Kris and Nathan is somewhat overshadowed by the underlying chemistry between them. So, not only does Kris have that to deal with, but she also has to outrun the "golden-eyed freaks" that are after her and figure out why they even want her. 

As you can believe, this makes for a very, very interesting action-packed story! I absolutely loved reading it! I won't give too much away, but I greatly appreciated the fantasy/paranormal twist that Dantone weaved into the story!

"Things could have been worse. It could have been a gym day and my sports bra had hit the floor at his feet. I should be grateful that it was only a pack of cheese-flavored crackers he held out to me."

"He was the type of guy that could take a small hit to his ego. It wasn't going to go anywhere."

"If only I had known that one day I would have been forced to run for my life, I might have put more effort into gym class this year."

"You learn that in the boy scouts?" I was impressed, though he couldn't tell through all the sarcasm.
"I wasn't a boy scout."
No kidding. I was pretty sure they taught manners.

"He was spill my hot chocolate all over myself and barely notice that I had third degree burns hot."

"I'm sorry," he sputtered. "I don't think I heard you right. Did I hear you say I was nice?"

"I couldn't help the trace of sarcasm in my tone. It was in my nature after all."

Book Review: The Awakening (Sapient Salvation Book 2) by Jayne Faith

Title: The Awakening
Author: Jayne Faith
Series: Sapient Salvation #2
Pages: 200
My Rating: ❤❤❤

Maya survived the first Tournament challenge only to learn that new and powerful enemies lurk in the Calistan palace. Even Lord Toric’s affection and guards aren’t enough to keep her safe, and she's still on her own in the Tournament--the alien lord is forbidden from interfering. As the list of deadly foes grows, Toric and Maya must uncover the traitor in the royal family who aims to murder Maya and destroy the Calistans' chance at reclaiming their homeland. Will Maya summon the strength and luck she needs to meet her highest destiny?

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was a little saddened to see that the second book didn't really live up to my expectations. It started off good, but then started to lag when I got towards the middle of the book. However, after a while it picked back up again, and then once again, it ended abruptly.

One thing that I absolutely loved about The Awakening was how we were able to get more points of view than just Maya and Toric's. I wasn't expecting the perspective change, but am so thankful that Lunaria's point of view was thrown in. Turns out, I really like her character!

Despite the slowness towards the middle of the book and the cliffhanger, I still like the overall story and am extremely interested to see where Faith takes it. I just have way too many questions that I desperately need answered!!

Book Review: Crimson Dahlia (Svatura #3) by Abigail Owen

Title: Crimson Dahlia
Author: Abigail Owen
Series: Svatura #3
Pages: 265
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

When Lila Jenner leaves her family and friends to start a new life for herself, Ramsey Pierce lets her go. Determined that the fire raging inside him will never harm her, he denies the magical bond that could be theirs alone.

When an old enemy resurfaces and Lila suddenly disappears, Ramsey realizes that he'll do anything to win her back and keep her safe beside him. But Maddox, driven by a centuries-old quest for revenge, is stronger than they ever imagined. And Lila could be the key to his ultimate power.

Friends and enemies must band together against this shared threat if any of them are to survive. Even then, they may all discover too late that one dragon is not always enough…

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

I don't know how it is even possible for this series to get better, but somehow it does. Going into Crimson Dahlia I thought that there was no way for it to live up to Hyacinth, however, I was terribly wrong!

In this installment, there was romance, action, and a whole lot of mystery. Every time a question would be answered, I felt as if five would magically appear. Of course this means that I can't wait to read the next one and finally figure out what is going on! So, despite how I know that I'm going to be wrong, I'm going to go ahead and say that Crimson Dahlia is my favorite in the series (Miss Owen will undoubtedly prove me wrong with the next installment, I'm sure of it!)!!

One of my favorite things about this series is how each installment focuses on a different couple, however, the characters you have came to know and love are still involved in the story. This enables the characters to be more developed and you get to see multiple sides to every character...and, these are some really great characters! Also, who would have known how awesome Ramsey would have turned out to be!! The chemistry between him and Lila was absolutely on fire!

"I just said I love you."

"Of course you do. You're like a brother to me."

Oh, hell no. He wasn't letting her take it there.

"I'll never be a brother to you."

"Sheesh. I get myself a little bit captured, and all sorts of interesting things happen."

Book Review: Something (Wisteria Book 1) by Shelby Lamb

Title: Something
Author: Shelby Lamb
Series: Wisteria #1
Pages: 304
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

“I will find true love, and everything will be okay. I will find true love, and everything will be okay…” she chanted.

They say be careful what you read. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. It can happen to anyone. This is just four teenagers’ story.

Aubrey Golding hates her face, her body, and is devastated after Nathan Silva leaves her. Alone, suicidal, and desperate for love, she discovers a book called Something and unknowingly links others to a dark and terrifying curse that is beginning to consume her.

Nathan is glad to be moving on with someone new and can hardly believe what is happening now. Wild child and amateur porn star, Bella Broadhurst, loves bullying that “emo whore” Aubrey with the other girls, but mostly she loves partying, hookups, and plain ol’ drama when terror arises. And Kendra Coke is just a new teen mother working on a delicate relationship when things start becoming utterly bizarre.

Chilling sleep disturbances and figures hiding in the corners of their rooms are just warnings of what is to come. Be careful what you read, they say. Tread carefully.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

If you don't like deeply flawed characters or things that go bump in the night, then Something is not for you. However, if you do, then for you, Something, may just be perfect! It is chalked full of flawed characters making questionable decisions, suspense, and creepiness.

When reading this story, you just have to go along with what the characters are doing. It's sort of like watching a scary movie and the main character goes into a creepy house and doesn't turn on any lights. The whole time you are yelling at the screen going "what are you thinking!" Something is no different. If I hadn't been reading the book in public, then I most likely would have had a running commentary that mostly consisted of the following: Why are you doing this? Are you stupid? Do you just want something bad to happen? 

After resigning myself to just go along with the story, I found that I actually kind of liked it. The characters aren't perfect, not even close, however, they aren't supposed to be. I don't really know if you are even supposed to really like the characters. What was happening around them was what I found really intriguing, and it's what kept me reading. I just had to know what was going to happen next, and how everything was going to play out. The details that Miss Lamb included throughout the story were amazing and I think she described things perfectly. Every time she mentioned those delectable truffles, my mouth would water! Seriously the descriptions were that good!!