REVIEW: Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Sentinel
Series: Covenant #5
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: November 2nd 2013
Format: Paperback | Pages: 297
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Source: Amazon
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!

Jennifer L. Armentrout | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

It's a beautiful day for a war.

As the mortal world slowly slips into chaos of the godly kind, Alexandria Andros must overcome a stunning defeat that has left her shaken and in doubt of their ability to end this war once and for all.

And with all the obstacles between Alex and her happily-ever-after with the swoonworthy Aiden St. Delphi, they must now trust a deadly foe as they travel deep into the Underworld to release one of the most dangerous gods of all time.

In the stunning, action-packed climax to the bestselling Covenant series, Alex must face a terrible choice: the destruction of everything and everyone she holds dear… or the end of herself.

I honestly do not think that I will ever be able to think of this book and not have at least a few tears build up in my eyes. It was heart wrenching and really packed a punch in the feels. But it was also beautiful and amazing and I am just so full of emotions. I'm not ready to be back in the real world right now, where these characters and these places don't actually exist. I just want to crawl back into my mind and wrap myself up in everything Covenant and stay there for a while. I hate...hate saying goodbye to such an amazing series. But since I have to, all I can say is Sentinel was the most amazing and perfect sendoff there could have been. There isn't an ounce of disappointment in me. I have never truly been as happy with how a series ended. Ever.

The closest furie's smile was edged with unimaginable cruelty. "The gods have heard Apollo's pleas and have responded."

The thing that will always have me turning to a JLA book without question or hesitation is the fact that she excels at both world building and character creation. When you're in the moment and you're reading one of her books everything feels so real. Like how it was reading this series for me, I felt like at any second Apollo could just pop up beside me and scare the ever loving crap out of me. I know, wishful thinking. But you know what I mean right? She has that thing... that spark, that really pulls you into her stories and allows you to feel and see everything.

"Do you know what I think about when it's quiet, Alex? I think about all the bad things I've done."

I was all over the place through this series when it came to my feelings on Seth. I started out on the first two books being 100% Team Seth. Sure, he was cocky. Like cocky to the point that you'd find yourself thinking, "if he opens his mouth one more time...I'm gonna hit him!" But still there was just something about him that I gravitated towards from the moment he first came around. By the time I finished Deity my feelings were reversed and found myself instead wishing horrible things would happen to him. In a lot of ways he broke my heart and I wasn't sure if it would be possible to like his character again. So imagine my surprise to find myself reading Sentinel and finding some redeemable qualities in him and feeling like maybe there is hope for Seth after all. He still did a lot of horrible things and he's not perfect, but he's also not the monster I was ready to brand him as either. I'm sorry but I cannot help but love Seth.

A throat cleared behind us, and then Apollo said, "Seriously, you two? It's not like you're keeping a god waiting or anything."

Even though I got that loving feeling back for Seth, the guy has nothing on Aiden St. Delphi. It's like every time I moved on to the next book in this series I would be blown away by how amazing and sweet and just wonderful this guy is. If he didn't show kinks in his armor every now and again I would honestly think this guy was too good to be true. I love how Alex and Aiden balance each other out and can read each other so well. There were so many Aiden and Alex feels. So. Many. Forbidden romance is one of my favorite tropes to read about. I loved how when people would give them dirty looks and openly stare Aiden would just squeeze her hand or something in a reassuring way and Alex would do something crazy pants like she is and flip them off. Gods I love Alex!

"We are!" Deacon shouted from inside the Expedition. "I've already got the first road game picked out, so freaking hurry!"

There are so, so many amazing characters to this series though. So many. The one who comes closest to the way I feel for Aiden and Alex is Aiden's younger brother Deacon. His nonstop energy and enthusiasm along with his charm and how freaking hilarious he is are just so endearing. I swear there must be something in the St. Delphi gene pool because there's just something about those boys. They're totally opposite for the most part, Aiden is the serious and responsible type whereas Deacon is the goofy and life of the party type. Both perfect in their own ways. Like I said though, there were so many amazing characters. Too many to go on and on about each one and I both love and hate when that happens. Having that many lovable characters makes it hard to accept that, in books like these, not everyone is going to make it to the end.

"And now it's happening again. We are going to war for you―for the gods. People will die. My friends and the people I love could die! I could die!"

This book wasn't exactly an easy one to read either. There is so much going on. I mean we're dealing with gods and war. It is intense and I was so freaked out for most of this book. I would be reading and even when nothing was happening...yet, my stomach would be a huge bundle of knots. I was dreading the possible chaos and death and destruction that could be every time I turned a page. I couldn't have been more on the edge of my seat. And that's the thing about paranormal/urban fantasy type books by JLA. She will bring you to the brink where everything is going to hell and characters will have to go to the extreme to try to put everything back together again. Things that have the potential to make the already intense and scary things go from bad to incredibly worse. Call me crazy, but I love feeling like that. Like, how could there possibly be hope? Because it makes the end results just that much sweeter.

The lopsided smile on Apollo's face spread. "Well, I would never kiss and tell."

The thing is though, it's not all fear and sadness and chaos. I'm always amazed by how much her books can make me laugh out loud. I'm not just talking some quiet little chuckle to myself. We're talking the kind that just bursts out of you. I love that just about every possible human emotion I could feel, I'm sure I felt when reading this series. There's this huge part of me that is kicking my own behind for taking so freaking long to put forth any effort to read it. I mean, I could have been feeling this bookish high a year ago! Oh well, at least I'm finally feeling it now. These feelings are something that aren't going to be going away any time soon.

My Alex and Aiden Song:

REVIEW: Apollyon (Covenant #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Apollyon
Series: Covenant #4
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: April 4th 2013
Format: Paperback | Pages: 343
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Source: Amazon
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!

Jennifer L. Armentrout | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.

Intense doesn't even begin to cover what I experienced with what I just read. Between Apollyon and Elixir, that I read just before it, I came out of them both just a little bit broken. I'm almost scared to pick up Sentinel now and finish this series off! Everything has been building and building and just when I think it couldn't get anymore crazy I turn the page and I'm proven wrong. It was next to impossible to put this book down. That last day I read it I realized at midnight that it was inevitable that, sleep be damned, I was going to finish this book. Which is how I ended up sniffling into a tissue at 5am. I have no regrets.

We were nine. But somehow―in a way I couldn't explain but knew to be truth―I knew we weren't going to return as nine.

The thing I always seem to forget before picking up an urban fantasy/paranormal type of book by JLA is the fact that, yes, she gives us these brilliant characters, brilliant to the point that even when we hate them we are still just as in awe of how complex they are as we are for the ones that we love. She gives them to us and yet she also takes them away. I think that's the other thing that has me absolutely freaked out to read the last book. Some truly amazing characters have already been lost and I have about 5 or 6 that are among those still standing, that if anything happens to them...I'm not sure my heart will be able to take it. I look at all the death and destruction that came with the ending of Lux and I realize how very real the possibility is that the characters I love so much will not all be standing at the end.

He tapped the internal light once and it flicked on, then he turned it off. Shiny things must be distracting for gods, too.

Once again the mythology aspect is just perfection. I love the personalities and quirks she's given these well known gods and goddesses that we've met up to now. Some of them are down right scary and intense. Others are funny and do these quirky things that had me laughing so damn hard, which isn't exactly a good thing when it's the middle of the night and you're trying to read quietly. I mean, they're all still your typical Greek gods. They're full of ego and pretty self centered and have tendencies to be very cold and detached. But each one has had a certain something extra either fitting for who they are or just random attributes that pulls you in and makes you want more. They've been a lot of fun and entertainment.

We're in this together, Alex, to the end.

I started this series very firmly in the Team Seth camp. I didn't think it would be possible for me to be swayed from that stance. Aiden snuck up on me in Deity, though, and I've been enamored of him ever since and with each page I turn he works his way deeper and deeper into my heart. It's his passion and patience. The fact that when he believes in someone or something his absolute faith and optimism is incredible. He does not give up. He's fierce and he will fight for what or who he believes in through some of the worst and extremely intense situations. Reading Elixir really put me in awe of him. If I don't stop now I could quite easily sit here and sing his praises for hours. He's definitely made it to the top of the book boyfriends list.

Part of me died right then, maybe not a physical death, but on some mental, some emotional level I was good as dead. When all of this was over, I wouldn't be the same.

Oh. My. Gods. Alex has turned me upside down and inside out. This book was so hard to read through a lot of it because of her and the things that she goes through. She has always been so tough and confident, almost a bit too confident at times. I feel like she doesn't quite get that girl back since the events of the previous book. She's very broken and carrying around a lot of guilt over so many things. She really hurts my heart in this one. Occasionally you still see tiny sparks of that ass kicking, tough as nails girl that she starts out as but there's a lot of darkness in there too. I just want to hug her really tight and then smack her upside the head and tell her to shake it off! Honestly though, I think that seeing this side of her has just made her more real and more likable.

When the boys nodded my eyes rolled. "Seriously? Are Sam and Dean going to be there?"

I can't believe I'm already about to start the end of this series. I'm not even there yet but I miss it already. The vivid world building, the entire cast of deep and complex characters, the rollercoaster of emotions and all of the awesome references, most especially for Supernatural. Everything that you've come to love and expect from a JLA series is in here. Contemporary, aliens, gargoyles, gods... what can't this woman write? This book was yet another perfect example of why she is one of my all time favorite authors.

REVIEW: Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Deity
Series: Covenant #3
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: November 6th 2012
Format: Paperback | Pages: 330
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Source: Amazon
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!

Jennifer L. Armentrout | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "

Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden. 

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome. 

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed. 

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate... 

Can I be honest with you guys? I haven't really been feeling this series. Don't get me wrong! I have really, really liked it, but it was never that deep, crazy, intense love that I normally feel when reading something by JLA. Look at my start and stop track record. Since 2013 until now I have read both Half-Blood and Pure three times now and never even put a dent in Deity. I've hated the fact that even though I was enjoying these books I didn't feel like I did when reading Lux or The Dark Elements or Wait for You or anything else I'd read by her. And then the other day I picked up Deity and...everything changed. And I mean everything! I was worried about feelings? Now I have so many I don't even know how to deal with them. And all I can do is just sit here and stare at the book and wonder...what the heck did I just read?!

A lump of horror and frustration formed in my throat.

Oh man this book was such an intense and frustrating ride! I swear only JLA can write something that would have me frustrated to the point where I wanted to physically hurt someone or something one moment, in the next nonstop tears, and then moments after that laughing hysterically. I don't know how she does it! Even my feelings for certain characters have been flipped upside down. I went into this feeling very strongly one way and came out the other side completely reversed. The woman is a magician.

It was official. The gods were overgrown children.

I am a huge lover of Greek mythology. So I think one of my most favorite things about this book was getting to meet a few of the gods. I always figured it would happen eventually, but I thought that maybe it would be more towards the end of the series. Getting to see three? I was over the moon! One of them was part of some of the funniest scenes and I couldn't get enough. I wanted more of him! Then the other two, well it was pretty intense. And as crazy and chaotic as everything is at the end of this one, I'm really hoping that means that there are more of them to come.

"Don't look at me like I've kicked a baby pegasus into the street."

Though I wasn't really a huge Alex fan in the beginning of the series, that's also something that's now changed. She was always just so reckless and never really used her brain and it drove me crazy. I absolutely adore her now. She's fierce and the reason she's always so reckless is because she lets her heart lead her. She's so full of passion and a sense of duty. Alex has so many things weighing down on her and I love the fact that through it all she's still filled with so much hope, though a lot of it was misguided hope, but nonetheless I respected her for that. And the fact that she could find things to laugh about and still have her sarcastic side after everything she's been through, I don't know how she hasn't cracked yet. She kicks some ass in a major way.

"I wanted a piece of you with me always. No matter what."

I don't really want to get into anything else just in case there are those out there, like me, who haven't gotten very far into this series yet. All I can say is this book shocked me, broke me, filled me with rage and made me, finally, fall in love, a deep, deep love, with this series. The holy crap factor was bumped up quite a few notches. I was on the edge of my seat and lost sleep and that ending? I think if I'd have read this back when it was first released I would've died having to wait and find out what was going to become of it. What a difference one book can make am I right?

RELEASE WEEK BLITZ! The Return (Titan #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout [Excerpt + Giveaway!!]

The Return (Titan #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher:
Spencer Hill Press

Expected Publication:

February 17th 2015

Genre:
New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology

Summary:

The Fates are cackling their bony asses off...

It's been a year since Seth made the deal with the gods that pledged his life to them. And so far, the jobs they've given him have been violent and bloody--which is kind of all right with him. But now Apollo has something else in mind for Seth. He's got to play protector while keeping his hands and fingers off, and for someone who really has a problem with restraint, this new assignment might be the most challenging yet.

Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy's deal might be, but it's a good bet that his arrival means the new life she started after leaving home is about to be thrown into an Olympian-sized blender turned up to puree. Either Josie is going insane or a nightmare straight out of ancient myth is gunning for her.

But it might be the unlikely attraction simmering between her and the golden-eyed, secret-keeping Seth that may prove to be the most dangerous thing of all.

Because history has once again been flipped to repeat.

Grab your copy today!!

Excerpt:

I was a half-blood, but I was also the Apollyon, a child of a pure and a half, a union that had been forbidden for thousands of years because an Apollyon was more powerful than any pure or half could ever hope to be.

And I always got to the traitors’ hideouts before they did, so the Sentinels were usually left with the cleanup, which I was sure absolutely thrilled them.

The first to enter was a female half-blood dressed just as I was. Her black hair was pulled back in a neat little knot at the top of her head. She was older, probably in her mid-thirties. It was pretty rare for a Sentinel to live that long. Her dark skin paled as she stopped just inside the entrance. She clenched titanium daggers in her hands like she expected something vicious to pop out from under the bloody mess.

The female Sentinel tipped her chin up, and the overhead light sliced across her broad cheekbones. She bore a jagged scar under her right eye, the skin lighter in tone. She saw me and froze.

My smile widened.

Behind her, another Sentinel rushed in, almost mowing her over. He saw me and whispered, “Seth.”

He'd said my name like I was the monster under his bed, and I sort of liked that. Then another Sentinel and another rolled in. The fifth took one look at my interior design work and keeled over. Slamming his hands on his knees, he hurled up his dinner.

Nice.

Our society existed completely unknown to the average mortal and had operated under what was known as the Breed Order for thousands of years. The Order had been dismantled, which meant halfs were no longer forced to choose between becoming Sentinels—hunting down violent creatures, protecting pures, enforcing laws, and otherwise usually dying pretty damn quickly on the job—or servants, which was a job that really wasn't a job, but more like slavery. Since then, many pampered pures had signed on to be Sentinels, making up for the loss of the halfs who’d pretty much said “screw this shit, I’m out.”

This wasn't necessarily a good thing.

For example, the dumbass puking all over my blood-covered floor was a pure. When he straightened, his face a greenish hue, he backed away, shaking his head. “I can’t,” he gasped out. “I can’t do this.”

Then he turned and hauled ass out the doors.
 I sighed. This was why we couldn't have nice things.

Giveaway:

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About the author:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

BLOG TOUR: Immortals (Runes #2) by Ednah Walters ARC REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

Title/Series: Immortals | Runes #2
Author: Ednah Walters
Publisher: Firetrail Publishing
Published: August 5th 2013
Format: eBook | Pages: 342
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance, Mythology
Source: ARC provided for blog tour
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!

Nothing can stop Raine Cooper when she wants something...

Raine finally knows that her gorgeous neighbor, Torin St. James, is a legend straight out of Norse mythology, and that her feelings for him are strong. Torin is crazy about Raine too, breaking the one rule he lives by: Never fall for a mortal. The problem is he no longer remembers her, his memories erased by Norns—Norse destiny deities—to punish her for defying them.

So Raine comes up with a plan...

She will make Torin forget his one rule a second time and fall in love with her all over again.

But she quickly learns that well-laid plans do not work when dealing with deities and supernatural beings. Desperate, Raine makes choices that could not only tear her and Torin further apart, but lead to the destruction of everything and everyone she loves.

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

I have been dying for this book, dying, for the last 6 months, when I finished reading Runes, the first book in the series. If, like me, you read and liked Runes then you know exactly why I couldn't wait to get my hands on Immortals. If you haven't, holy cliffhanger from hell! Oh and by the way, what are you waiting for? Go get it now and read it! Then you can come back and tell me how right I was. ;)

I'll admit I was a bit worried before I started this. I mean I seriously was in love with the first book, though I quite literally was yelling and cursing with the way Ednah Walters left us hanging. The anticipation was killing me, but, would Immortals live up to the series starter? That would be a great big hell yes. It not only lived up to my expectations it blew them out of the water. It even took a few characters I really wasn't big fans of when before I began and completely flipped my views of them around.

Runes felt like it focused quite a bit on Raine and Torin and their growing relationship and all the ups and downs within. But with Immortals we got some of that, but then there was so much more. So many people have secrets and quite a few aren't exactly what they appear to be. We also got to delve much deeper into the mythology of the series, which was absolutely fascinating. There was intensity, both in danger and romance. Plus a couple of twists along the way.

As I was saying before, so many people aren't completely as they appear to be and so I was surprised to find myself slowly starting to warm up to a few characters. Eirik being the first one. It's not as if I hated him in Runes, I think I was just so preoccupied and focused on Torin and Raine that Eirik just sort of became like background noise to me. He was there, I knew he was there, but I just wanted to brush him aside and get to all the good stuff. He's got a huge secret and a big role in Immortals. I found myself wanting to know more and more and was completely falling for this guy.  And the more that both we and Eirik himself find out about who he really is, the darker and more dangerous the book becomes and the harder it is to put down!

Andris was the other one that really surprised me. Honestly in Runes I thought he was a complete tool. He just seemed so angry and mean and bad things seemed to happen with him. There was something different about him though this time around. Sure he was still arrogant and cocky and enjoyed stirring up a bit of trouble, but there was a bit of heart to him as well and a bit of compassion. Dare I say I actually like him now? Miracle of all miracles! We also got to see quite a bit of his funny side, he was definitely entertaining.

Immortals made me fall in love, not only with the series a little bit more but also the characters. It was a crazy ride full of laughter, frustration, heartache and so many swoons. If there's one thing Ednah Walters is good at it's the "Oh. My. God!" type of swoons. *Fans self* The Runes series is simply a must read for any fans of mythology out there. And now the torturous wait for the next book to come out...

Haven't read the first book yet?

Runes (Runes #1) by Ednah Walters

Published: May 20th 2013

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance, Mythology

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

About the author:

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six. You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com or www.ebwalters.com.

Ednah Walters | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

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EMBER BLOG TOUR: Chaos (Kardia Chronicles #1) by Christine O'Neil ARC REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

"Our fires burn brightly for our readers and as a way to say thanks to our readers we've launched our latest division of Entangled Teen and it's name is Ember. We have two exciting launch titles: Darker Days by Jus Accardo and Chaos by Christine O'Neil. Read away!" Entangled Teen Ember is a division of Entangled Teen that specializes in digital-first YAs.

Title/Series: Chaos | Kardia Chronicles #1

Author: Christine O'Neil

Publisher: Entangled Teen Ember

Published: August 19th 2013

Format: eBook | Pages: 286

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Mythology

Source: ARC provided for blog tour

★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly, when I lose my temper, my fingers become weapons of mass destruction. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.

Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this annoying—and super-hot—guy all up in my business, I'm about to flip out.

But it gets worse. I just learned there's this watchdog council of semis who keeps an eye out for any bad apples. They think I'm the baddest of the bunch and want to take me out before I do any more damage. My nemesis Mac might turn out to be my salvation, only he's got secrets of his own...and they may just kill us both.

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

I was really excited to be reading and reviewing Chaos for the Ember Blog Tour to kick off Entangled's newest branch to their teen line. I am always fascinated by mythology and reading the different ways it's woven into stories. Chaos was quite different from the things I've read in the past.

At first I was finding difficulty in liking the two main characters Maggie and Mac. Maggie was for the most part, you're average teenage girl. She had her own set of faults. Such as the fact that she was very selfish and she lashed out easily and often. and I felt like the way she treated her mom just didn't feel deserved. Sure here were things to be upset and a bit angry with, that much I did understand, but it just sort of felt like too much. Though the more that I got to know Maggie and what was going on or had gone on in her life up to the point that we meet her, the more I understood and was able to look past her temper and such and eventually came to like her quite a bit.

Mac was such a jerk. He antagonized and pushed Maggie and he really seemed to enjoy getting her angry. He was also very cocky and sure of himself. Just not really a good guy, in the beginning. Then as it was with Maggie, the story progressed, I got to know more about him, learned his secret and after that things just started to click. It still wasn't cool how he acted towards her in the beginning, but, it was easier to see where he was coming from and understand his reasons and by the end of the book he'd won me over completely.

At this point, being the first book in the series, we've just barely scratched the surface of the mythology of this world and how the magic works and so on, It was very interesting and unique and I hope and am looking forward to learning more about the other types of semi gods and how they work. Also hopefully Maggie can learn more about herself and her powers.

This book was such a fun read. There was danger and intensity. Quite a few laugh out loud moments. There was also a bit of romance as well, the sexual tension was pretty crazy and it really added something interesting to an already good book without overpowering it and taking away from the main focus of the book, Maggie and her struggles in dealing with her dangerous new powers and how to get herself in control before the council takes matters into their own hands, her sense of self and finding out who she is now that she's not an average girl and also the struggles she's going through with her family.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. I found it unique and engaging and the perfect start to what seems like will be a favorite new series. I'm already hooked and looking forward to the next one. If you're a fan of mythology then you should really give it a try!

About the author:

Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts. Christine also writes adult romance under the pen name Christine Bell.

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