Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Way You Love Me by Miranda Liasson


Title: The Way You Love Me 
Series: Angel Falls #2
Author: Miranda Liasson
Publisher: Forever
Release date: January 29, 2019



A heartwarming story about love, family, and taking risks that matter 


Gabby Langdon has always tried to make people happy. She even went to law school to please her father, and now she's a highly successful-albeit bored-attorney. But Gabby secretly dreams of being a writer, so for once she does something for herself-she signs up for a writing class taught by best-selling novelist Caden Marshall. There's only one problem: her brooding, sexy professor is a distraction she can't afford if she's finally going to get the life she truly wants. 


Recently divorced and suffering from the world's worst case of writer's block, Caden is in Angel Falls to get his life back on track. He's focused on teaching and providing a stable and loving home for his young daughter, Ava. The last thing he needs is to jeopardize his new job, which means keeping plenty of distance between himself and his talented new student-no matter how tempted he is by Gabby's beauty, kind heart, or the sparks that fly whenever they're together. 







I've been waiting to read The Way You Love Me by Miranda Liasson. I loved her first book in the Angel Falls series where Gabby was introduced and I wanted Gabby to find her soulmate too.

Gaby Langdon just recently made partner at her law firm. She works hard and long hours. Before deciding to be a lawyer, she took many classes to see what inspired her. In the end, she decided to go for a job that she knew would pay the bills and her father would approve. Yet, she has always had the desire to write. When she finds her mother's manuscript she decides to join a creative writing class to feel a connection to her deceased mother. What she wasn't expecting was to fall for her teacher.

Cade Marshall is a famous writer. A one-hit-wonder after his ex-wife proclaimed she gave him all his ideas for his book. After this awful occurrence, Cade developed a huge writer's block. He's not sure he can write another book. Cade moves back to Angel Falls after accepting a job as a professor in a creative writer's class. Cade just wants a stable job to help sustain his three-year-old daughter. Having the hots for his student was not part of his low-profile plan.

I liked both Gaby and Cade. Gaby was always supportive, a good sister and super nice to Cade's daughter. Cade was good at his job and as soon as he realized he was in trouble for falling for Gaby, he tried to keep his distance. 

The Way You Love Me was a super cute small town romance. A fast read full of engaging characters.

At the end of The Way You Love Me, we get a glimpse into the next couple. Rafe (Gaby's brother) and Katilyn's story is next.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Forever in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman


Title: Scythe
Series: Arc of a Scythe #1
Author: Neal Shusterman 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers



Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.



Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline? 







"The Thunderhead did not speak to unsavories."
What a huge cliffhanger!! 

I usually hate cliffhangers but I think Thunderhead ends in a great one.

So what happens in this installment?

Rowan is now Scythe Lucifer. He's targeting Scythes who have forgotten their way. The Scythes who enjoyed the killing are all in his naughty list. 

Citra as junior Scythe Anastasia is trying to change the Scythom from within with the support of Scythe Curie and the help of Scythe Faraday. This puts her in grave danger. Not everyone agrees with her way of thinking.

There's a fight for power between the old order and the new one. All thanks to Scythe Goddard and his followers. 

Shusteman introduces an important character, Greyson Tolliver who will play a huge part in the Thunderhead

My favorite part was learning more about the Thunderhead. Instead of the Scythes journals, we get so much more input about It, what he's thinking and who he wants to help.
“Death must exist for life to have meaning.” 

I love the world building and the insight we get from the main characters. 

I'm not sure how much the Tonists will play a part in the next one but I think it's going to be a major one.

I wonder how much time passes between the end of the Thunderhead and The Toll. I hope we don't have to wait too long for it. I'm dying for answers.

Cliffhanger: YEP!!

4/5 Fangs


Scythe by Neal Shusterman


Title: Scythe
Series: Arc of a Scythe #1
Author: Neal Shusterman 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers





Two teens are forced to murder—maybe each other—in the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.


In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional reapers (“scythes”). Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythe’s apprentices, and—despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation—they must learn the art of killing and come to understand the necessity of what they do.



Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice. And when it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser, Citra and Rowan are pitted against one another in a fight for their lives.











“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.”

The Scythe came highly recommended to me. My husband read it and loved it. He told me "This one is right up your alley." I can't disagree. It had all the right components to become a favorite fantasy.

In this new world, many years away from us, people don't die. There is no sickness and the Cloud has become an entity that manages the world without taking absolute control. It's called the Thunderhead. Since people don't die, many try to do it just for fun. Deadish is the new extreme sport. If you don't like the aging process, you can reverse time and "turn a corner" and become a younger self. 

Permanent death is only achieved by being "gleaned". The person performing a gleaning is specially chosen and trained. He or she becomes a Scythe. Scythes are feared and revered. The only ones who don't like them are the Tonist.  The Tonists live in monasteries and the Thunderhead leaves them alone although cameras are still everywhere.

The main characters are Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova. Both teenagers, who after having an interaction with Scythe Faraday they are offered to become apprentices into the Scythom. Neither wants to do it but their families are all for it in order to receive immunity for one year. 

The world of the Scythom is full of intrigue, politics, and danger. We meet many important characters like Scythe Curie (the Grand Dame of Death), Scythe Goddard, Scythe Xenocrates and many more. 

The Scythe is an amazing fantasy. It has an impressive world-building with very interesting characters and compelling dialogue. There was a couple of great twists (one, I saw coming, one, I had not thought about) and a fantastic ending.

“Death makes the world kin.” 

Cliffhanger: Yes

4/5 Fangs