REVIEW: Royal Marriage Market by Heather Lyons

Title: Royal Marriage Market
Author: Heather Lyons
Publisher: Cerulean Books
Published: December 15th 2015
Format: eBook | Pages: 335
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Amazon
★★★✩ (3.5/5) Stars!

Heather Lyons | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Fans of The Royal We will not want to miss this epic love story! 

Every decade, the world’s monarchs and their heirs secretly convene to discuss global politics and social issues—and arrange marriages between kingdoms. 

Elsa may be the Hereditary Princess of Vattenguldia, but she finds the entire situation archaic and unsavory. While she wants what's best for her country, she isn't about to jump into an unwanted relationship—let alone a marriage—with a virtual stranger. Of course, her feelings matter little to her parents, whose wheeling and dealings over trade pacts and alliances achieved at her expense begin the moment they set foot in California for the Summit. So when a blindingly handsome royal runs into her, she doesn't hesitate to tell him there's no way she's marrying him. 

Christian is all too happy to agree: no marriage. As the Hereditary Grand Duke of Aiboland, his main goal is to get through the summit without a bride being foisted on him. Which is why he suggests they help each other field potential intendeds. As Christian slowly gets to know Elsa, though, he realizes they have a lot more in common than just their feelings about the Royal Marriage Market. Only he can't fall for her, because royal or not, they're not meant for each other. 

Elsa and Christian will have to evaluate matters of the heart verses those of state and crown, and decide whether or not tradition trumps love.

The first time this book came into my orbit I immediately had to get my hands on it. The gorgeous cover, the title and then that blurb that gave me that feel of all those historical romances I love to read so much but with a modern twist. It just sounded like so much fun. However, while I was in very deep like with it...I didn't actually love it as much as I wanted to. And parts of it just left me feeling all out frustrated.

I need to clarify up front that none of my negative feelings toward this book have anything to do with either Elsa or Christian directly. On the contrary, I adored them to absolute pieces. Matter of fact just a few pages in and after having been introduced to Elsa, my first thought wasn't "I love this girl" it was more along the lines of of "I absolutely fucking love this girl." I also felt those instant feelings towards Christian as well. He's on his very own level of swoon worthy. And while I'm putting it all out there I shipped these two just as hard, if not even harder in some cases, as I have ever shipped any of my favorite fictional couples. I needed these two characters to be together almost as much as I needed air.

So, no. There were no flaws where they were concerned.

The thing that ended up sucking so much joy out of this book for me was Christian's mother of all people. She was just such a vile and disgusting....person. (I was tempted to call her a monster instead.) If the fact that she seemed to take such joy in, what I can only describe as emotional terrorism against her own children weren't bad enough, she spoke to her sons in a way that no mother ever should speak to her own flesh and blood. Shortly after we meet Christian, she says to both him and his brother Lukas, "Think about all the pretty girls that will be present. Why, I can only imagine how eager they'd be to open their legs for you." and I was so very nearly close to being done. If I'm being honest, I probably should have been. But I wanted to really give this book a shot and the benefit of the doubt. Trust me when I say that she never got any better.

Thankfully, Christian and Elsa were enough of a draw to keep me turning the pages and the desire to know how their story would end was strong. 

I loved how their story played out. From the hilarious first meeting, to the innocent, though extremely reluctant moments of initial flirtation, to the all out sizzling chemistry and delicious sexual tension that builds to the point of all out frustration on my part. Add to it the fact that in a lot of ways it's a forbidden relationship they're dancing around and I was totally gone over these two.

Even the moments that were, if I'm being honest, kind of cheesy between them, what with all their silly little inside jokes. All of my Christian and Elsa feels completely overshadowed those moments and all I needed and wanted was just more of them. More!

I also loved Christian's brother Lukas and all his playboy ways and then both Christian and Elsa's personal secretaries, Charlotte and Parker. Parker with all his seriousness and adhering to propriety as much as possible but yet you could still see his fun side and how even though he was all of those things, Christian's happiness was what he was most loyal to. And Charlotte and how she was such a force and how even though Elsa was her princess and her employer, she wasn't afraid to speak up, very loudly, and call her on her garbage. All three added some much needed laughter to the book in their own ways just when I needed it the most.

Truly, as you can see I did not hate this book. I think maybe if Lukas and Christian's mother hadn't been quite so...so...ew, this would have been an entirely different review all together. Still, there was enough on the romance front to make it worth all the cringe worthy moments she made an appearance in. I couldn't get enough of them and still want more!

BLOG TOUR: The Hidden Library (The Collectors' Society #2) by Heather Lyons [ARC Review + Excerpt + Giveaway]

Title/Author: The Hidden Library | The Collectors' Society #2
Author: Heather Lyons
Publisher: Cerulean Books
Published: February 26th 2015
Format: eARC | Pages: 311
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: InkSlinger PR
★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected...

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors’ Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know.

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old.

Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths.

And don't miss the first book in the series!

The Collectors' Society:

My Review:

I received a copy of this book, from InkSlinger PR, in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!

I have been dying to get my hands on this book ever since finishing the first one, The Collectors' Society. I love this world that Heather Lyons has created along with the personalities she's given these well known and beloved characters. Many of them are quite different from the books they've been pulled from yet still with little hints of the people you expect them to be still intact. I will admit I haven't read all of the stories of the people she's included, some of them just a brief knowledge of their stories, but the ones I have read about I am really enjoying the new life that she has brought to them.

Besides the characters I feel like what grabs me the most about these books is the rich, descriptive settings and worlds that she has built for them, they all seem to me very true to their timelines, though sometimes with a little bit of a twist that I find so very interesting. Whether it's in modern day New York City, or in vibrant fantasy lands filled with odd creatures and even odder characters, or tumbling backwards in history to the moors in England or to the era surrounding the Civil War, you really get a feel for each one of the worlds she tosses you in to and I love that feeling of anticipation to see where I'll be taken to next. Because the possibilities truly are endless!

Alice has got to be one of my most favorite new heroines. One of the things I like the best about Alice is she's just so...classy. She's a force to be reckoned with especially when dealing with someone or something she cares about and I would definitely not want to cross her, but even in doing so she still has this classy air about her that I love that makes her feel so very Alice-like. She's fierce and passionate, smart and funny and just so much fun to read. And then there's Finn who makes me swoon like no other and is heart achingly sweet and loyal and equally as fierce and passionate as Alice. I fell hard for him in the first book but this one made me just fall harder. He surprised me in so many ways with how understanding and the lengths and amount of himself he's willing to sacrifice for his loved ones. I just can't get enough of this guy. Then you have Finn and Alice together and sparks....magic.

There is a bit of a slowness to the start of the book as we're given information and backgrounds and setting in motion the events that come about with The Hidden Library. Not in a bad way though and it's really all stuff that you kind of need to know. It's just that you know that something crazy is just around the corner, action, drama, blood, romance, so many things that will keep you on the edge of your seat and heart pounding and filled with anticipation. And you do get all of those things! Heather Lyons is really good at writing these scenes that waver between speeding your heart up, making it shatter or stop completely all together. And I love and hate every minute of it! Mostly I just hate the fact that I have to now play the waiting game for the next book. I'm not a very patient person as it is and the way we're left with this one very nearly did me in!

This series is just the right amount of contemporary and classic mixed with fantasy and splashed with a bit of romance. Filled with familiar characters, even if you only know them by name, some of them you'll love, some of them you'll hate and others will have you wondering if they truly are friend or if they're foe. I'm still just as hooked as I was after finishing the first book and I can't wait to be able to drop everything and read the next one!

Excerpt:

The book was big and heavy and seemed to take up the width of the love seat we were crammed onto, two teenagers and their mother, but Katrina didn't mind. For such a beautiful, fragile-looking woman, she was strong. Brom would tease her about it, but that’s all it was—teasing. Everyone at the Institute knew that Katrina was the backbone of everything. Katrina had nerves of steel, and a stare that could cut down the densest forest. Her heart was massive and her belief in doing the right thing was astounding. She was strong, both physically and emotionally, and it was one of the things that I loved best about my mother.

She tried so hard with me. So, so hard. She never let me run, and the truth was, because of her, I eventually stopped wanting to. She’s the one who taught me that settling down was an okay thing. She’s the one who taught me I could let my defenses go and rely upon family. That opening up my heart didn't mean losing myself like I once feared.

“Why is this book important?” she asked us that afternoon.

Victor looked across the space and met my eyes. He rolled his and I fought back the urge to laugh. I liked Victor. He was smart—smarter than Sawyer, but he never lorded it over me. He sounded so smart, too, and for the first few weeks I was at the Institute, I was too embarrassed to speak around him. Some of the kids in the neighborhood told me I spoke like some hillbilly hick on TV, one that should have all their teeth missing and live in the swamps with gators or have fleas or something equally horrifying and yet all too painfully realistic. I nearly got my ass kicked a number of times and a few black eyes when I did talk to those kids because language changed over the years. Attitudes and society had changed for the better. Words I grew up with were no longer okay to use, and it scared the shit out of me that I never knew that before coming to New York. I wasn't smart like any of the rest of them. I didn't have the schooling or upbringing they all did. It didn't take long to realize I was that hick they said I was. But Victor, smart, clean, cultured Victor, never got on me about any of those things. Granted, Katrina would have verbally tanned his hide had he, but still.

I let Victor answer Katrina’s question, because I was afraid to say something stupid. Hell, even with all the tutors they’d hired for me, reading was still something I struggled with at that point, so it wasn't like I could even tell either of them what the title was.

“It’s a book of fairy tales,” he said. “Popular ones.”

It wasn't the answer she wanted, but she didn't belittle him for it. “Why do we need fairy tales?” But before he could answer, she said, “Huck?”

Katrina was the last person I ever allowed to call me Huck, but even she stopped when I changed my name permanently.

My tongue felt thick, and I think I may have even started to sweat as they waited for my answer. I debated not answering, actually. But then I looked into her eyes and understood that she genuinely wanted to hear what I had to say.

So I told her, “They give people hope for happy endings.”

“You are so right.” She’d smiled. It was so beautiful, like that of one of the princesses’ pictured within the thick volume. I loved those smiles of hers, and she was so generous with them. “It’s funny, so many of the stories within this book are actually dark and rather violent, and yet, over time, we have come to associate fairy tales with the happiest endings we could ever imagine. This book represents the undying belief in good that people have. That’s the power of books, boys. Stories such as these endure because of hope.”

Children's and Household Tales, otherwise known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, was the first book I voluntarily ever read once I knew how. And it was all because my mother taught me to hold on to hope.

My mother did not get a happy ending.

“They’ll pay for what they did.” My vow is quiet. Angry. “Make no mistake about that.”

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Heather Lyons writes epic, heartfelt love stories and has always had a thing for words. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Release Day Launch: The Hidden Library (The Collectors' Society #2) by Heather Lyons [Excerpt + Giveaway!]

The Hidden Library

(The Collectors' Society #2)

by Heather Lyons

Published:

February 26th 2015

by Cerulean Books

Genres:

Adult, Fantasy,

Romance, Fairy Tale

Summary:

Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected...

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors’ Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know.

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old.

Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths.

And don't miss the first book in the series!

The Collectors' Society:

Excerpt:

We are about to open the conference room door and enter the hallway when he stops. He turns to me, his lovely eyes achingly sincere. “I want to take you on a date when all of this craziness is over. A real one. We've kind of gone about this all backwards, haven’t we?”

One corner of my mouth lifts up. “Are you saying you’d like to court me?”

There is no playfulness to his face, no quirk to his own lips. My heart flutters at his seriousness. “Yes.”

He wants to court me.

Too many emotions rush around in a caucus race throughout my body. I have no doubts of Huckleberry Finn Van Brunt’s feelings toward me. I understood them two minutes ago just as well as I did this morning when I woke up and from the night before and from the day in Wonderland where he said, in not so many words, that he was falling in love with me.

I told him he was my north star, and meant it. He countered we are binaries.

He and I . . . We've never said those words, though, not the ones that truly spell out fragile, deep secrets of a heart and soul. Words so easily and yet unfortunately uttered by many, be it to express their appreciation of fried bits of potatoes to sports teams on the television. Words offered so frivolously about a variety of subjects and yet can be the most difficult, most painful, most meaningful, most cherished syllables we gift another person.

I have said these words before, to another man. Another man I still love. One I know, in the deepest confines of my heart, that I will love until the last breath escapes my body. A man who courted me in secret and then publicly in the face of astonishment, disapproval, confusion, and, in the end, prophesies.

I have willingly given the man in front of me my heart, though, whether he knows it or not. He now holds it in his hands, and while I pray he is my future, there is still a part of me that bucks in conflicted confusion and delight by this declaration of his.

He wants to court me.

And yet, as sweet and romantic as such a gesture might be, I require no such formalities. My affections for Finn Van Brunt have already solidified into something real and wonderful and meaningful.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Heather Lyons writes epic, heartfelt love stories and has always had a thing for words. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

COVER REVEAL: The Hidden Library (The Collectors' Society #2) by Heather Lyons

Heather Lyons is known for writing epic, heartfelt love stories often with a fantastical twist. From Young Adult to New Adult to Adult novels --one commonality in all her books is the touching, and sometimes heart wrenching, romance. And this book is absolutely no different! The Collectors’ Society’s adventures continue in ways you would have never imagined! Join them as you step into this adult fairytale with some of your favorite characters set to be released February 26th!! Heather worked with Victoria Faye from Whit and Ware for the design of this fabulous cover and we are so delighted to share it with you!!

Without further ado we give you the amazing cover for

THE HIDDEN LIBRARY!!

 

Summary:

Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected . . .

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors’ Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know.

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old. 

Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths. 

  Don’t miss the first book in this series, 

THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY!

About the author:

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—she’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads