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Two Moons by Elena Pavlova

Warning: The review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

First I guess I will have to say I'm not really a fan of short stories. By the time I get into the story and it ends. And this book is an anthology of 17 short stories. But... I loved it. Or most of it anyway.

Elven Song - bittersweet story of first love, absolutely loved it.

Three of Swords - nice story, not one of my personal favorites in the anthology but good

Three of Swords 2: The Royal Sword - another story with the characters from previous one. Funny, good but still doesn't make it to my personal top 3  from the book.

A Master of The Bow and Torinawa - one of the stories I wanted to be longer, picked my interest and... ended. Perfect example why I don't like short stories in general.

Cavanos' Dragons - and that's the story on 3d place in my personal top 3. What to say.... Dragons!

Moonlight Path - suspense, blood and... um, can I have a little more please?

Night Club - my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad one, just... really not my cup of tea.

Ghostly Afternoon - loved that one, almost made it to my top 3. Almost. I just liked three others a bit more. Good 4th though. 

They come from the hills at night 2.0 - another one of not exactly my favorites. Can't exactly point out why. Guess it just goes to the group "not my cup of tea", too.

To Walk On Water - nice little story. Read it and liked it... and promptly forgot it. It's a bit... too even, nothing much happens and in between the other ones, most of which have the impact of a hammer strike... just goes unnoticed, forgettable.

A Dinosaur for Christmas - I want one too. And some more of that story. Absolutely loved it. Deserving 2d place in my top 3.

Tasty to The Last Cup - for coffee lovers. Nice but also on the list of a bit forgettable. 

Nomad: The Killer Sleeps Downstairs - a bit overwhelming. Had the same problem with the book. It feels like you are being hit by a train but the violence gets a bit too much for my taste. Okay, I admit it, I'm squeamish. 

Closed Timelike Curve - had a lot of fun here. How much trouble exactly two boys with a time machine can get in?

Two Moons - somehow when I read the title (and the previous stories) I was expecting it to be about werewolves. And... it's not. Big surprise for me. In everything - plot, setting, main character. Got me curious. But not about what happens next as more stories do. Got me curious what happened before it started.

The Manipulator - hmmmmm, really not sure what to say about this one. Goes to the "not my cup of tea" category, I guess.

Winter Census Of The Vampire Population - my absolute favorite. I got swallowed by it, chewed and spit out to pick my pieces. Can I have more of it? Pretty please?

So in total: 

3 absolutely favorite stories

8 others I loved too

2 nice but forgettable

1 nice but got me squeamish

3 in the "not my cup of tea" category

Considering the fact that the book actually offers a little bit for everyone, I think I have a very nice count of likes. Anyone surprised? Well, that's Elena. If you have read something from her before - you won't. 

A World Apart by L.J.K. Oliva

I got the book free of charge from the author in exchange of an honest review through Lovers of Paranormal. The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

A very nice read for everyone who likes paranormal mysteries. The mystery is intriguing and so are the characters. MacMillian is skeptic but curious. non-believer but ready to stand-up against whatever "go bump in the night". At first I was skeptic I would grow to like him, he is not your typical hero. But with time he sort of grew on me. I only wish we got a better explanation what a "baro" is and how that is important. His dislike for Marc Durban was also unexplained but as this is first book in a series, that didn't bug me as much.
Lena... I liked Lena. Mostly. She was funny, smart, likable character. And then she had to go and sleep with Marc. Which didn't fit. Not for her. Especially with the fact that MacMillian didn't like Marc and she knew it. At this point Lena already trusted the private detective, so why she didn't think more about why he doesn't trust Durban? He probably has a reason.
The mystery was interesting, not as much of who but of how and why. Will admit to not being a big fan of cliffhangers but it sure made me curious to read the next book. It looks like it will offer a wider range of night creatures and more mysteries to solve. But I think I'm mostly curious about the whole Jesper-Durban history. What really happened between these two?

Girlgoyle by Better Hero Army

I was given the book free of charge in exchange for an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal). The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 6 of 10

Gargoyles! Just heard that and I knew I need to read the book. I loved the story - the idea of gargoyles acting as guardians, the different types of gargoyles, the way they live and function. I would have loved to see more of that.

On the other hand, Tiffany... well, she is nice but I got no idea why she is describing herself as "competitive". I saw nothing of that in her - she is not trying to learn how to fly better, she is not trying to prove to the other girls she is good(at anything), she runs away. I didn't saw even a single competitive bone in her, instead she is just whiny. And a lot at that. Another thing that sort of baffled me was her believe that her parents  can make things better. Usually teenage girls that age are supposed to have lost their superhero worship toward their parents. Altogether, Tiffany was a nice girl around 10 years old or so. 

Franklin is a lot better hero than I expected when we were first introduced to him. A little more back story would have been much appreciated. He is a bit of a stereotypical rule-breaker but is likable and smart.

Will admit that I would love to see a sequel of the book. And would definitely read it if one is published.   

How the Wolf Lost Her Heart by Sarah Brownlee

I got the book free of charge from the author in exchange of an honest review.

The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

3 rereads. What to say? I loved the book. Will probably read it again sometime. The story is set in a future, dystopian London.I loved the way the world is build but have loved it more if I have seen a bit more prehistory. What led London to the condition we find it in? But I loved we actually got an explanation how morphers got their abilities. 

Skye is very likable heroine in my opinion. She is stubborn, she is insecure but she is also strong and knows what she wants. Did I mentioned she is also smart? True, sometimes she acts in the heat of the moment and against her better judgement but who doesn't? She is also too quick to judge without bothering to learn all the facts. As someone who does the same mistake - I can relate. Only I didn't get why her animal is a wolf. What made her a wolf and not a bear for example?

Raphael is sweet... and clueless  I found him fun to read about. The love story between him and Skye was a bit predictable but it wasn't an instant love and I enjoyed it. I also loved to see Raphael's connection to his father. These father-son moments were some of the best parts of the book for me.

Daphne... I didn't like Daphne. Women who just have to be with someone for the sake of having a man on their side are not someone I would respect. But she was believable and she fit, so I guess it's okay she is not really my idea of a best friend. 

I can't wait to see what it to follow. The book raised a lot of questions and absolutely triggered my curiosity for the next one to no end. It is also pretty easy to read and goes well lazy Sunday afternoons.  

Hallowed (Guardian #3) by Samantha Long

I got a copy of the book free of charge in exchange of an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal). The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 7 of 10

In the third and final book of the Guardian trilogy Sophie and her friends head out to demon realm to defeat Akeldama once and for all. But what is expecting them in there was quite unexpected to me. And I loved that. There are a few surprising things but I do not want to spoil too much - friends, or at least some sort of allies, reuniions and what not.
I loved Sophie in this book. She was brave, smart and very much the kind of heroine I like. Can't say the same for Tristan. He have been unreliable if you ask me and I have no idea how Sophie could still have any trust in him after he abandoned her to deal on her own not once, but twice. This is absolutely not the kind of a guy I will count on. I pretty much like Lily too, but can't say she is a favorite of mine. Think she have been missing too long and even in this book I didn't really saw much of her. Mostly I hardly felt her as Sophie's best friend. Morgan had a lot more character to her for example.
For the rest of the characters I can hardly say much. They were nice, but at some point I was feeling confused who is who and what his role in the team is, they were just too many of them.
I also wished that the ending was a bit longer. It felt rushed and not really that much of a culmination of a long fight as I expected it to be. Some of their previous adventures to get to that point were a lot better developed.
Altogether I liked the book and the trilogy a lot. I value high the fact that I am not able to guess half way in, how the things will happen. Will gladly read any sequels or spin-offs if the author ever write one.

Phoenix Rising by Heather R. Blair

I got this book free of charge in exchange of an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal). The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 6 of 10

Obviously I expected more. The summary sounded absolutely captivating and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the story. But... even if the plot was interesting, it wasn't really developed. The potential was there for sure, but got lost in meaningless sex scenes. The book is 86 pages long only and in 50 of them the main characters are either remembering how they have had sex, have sex or imagine to have sex.  The romance got lost too. For the same reason. We barely saw the characters have other interaction but sex. The only thing that came to mind to them when thinking of each other was sex and hurt. Nothing bad with that, it's just not love, it's pure lust. Or maybe it's just me, because I do not necessary connect sex with love. Love for me is in the time spent together - talking, joking, little things you remember about the other like how they like their coffee or tea, how they prefer to sleep and so on.  Things that weren't there.

Now enough of what I didn't like in the story. What I did like? First, the plot(as much as it was there) was actually good. Would have appreciated if they haven't figured out who the killer is so fast but the idea was good. Second, I loved Kelsey. Mostly because she didn't play the damsel in distress and waited for someone to save her. She is strong, she is smart and she knows it. She doesn't let herself be brainwashed and manipulated. I would love to see more of her and also more of Jules. Really hope next installments concentrate more on the plot than on the sex and will surely read them. Best part of the book - Miles' "No, I thought I will give her time to save herself."