This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm reading a book that I've been both looking forward to and nervous about...
Up In Flames by Abbi Glines
Blurb:
Spoiled. Selfish. Rich girl. Villain. Slut.
As the Prada-clad bad girl of Rosemary Beach, Nan Dillon has been called every vile name under the hot summer sun. Some of her reputation is deserved—she’s never had to worry about anything but maintaining her perfect figure and splitting Daddy’s private jet with her brother, Rush.
But Nan is far from happy. Rush has another kid on the way and doesn’t have time to catch up with his sister. Grant, the last guy she truly cared about, chose to be with her half-sister, Harlow, instead of her. And Harlow, who has never gotten over the way Nan treated her when she first moved to town, remains distant.
So when Major asks her out, she jumps at the chance to date the gorgeous charmer. Though she doesn’t know much about the sweet-talking Texan, and though it’s clear he doesn’t want to be exclusive, dating him beats hanging out with vapid socialites or watching Netflix alone at home.
For a while, Nan deals with Major’s playboy ways, but after he burns her one too many times, she takes off for an impromptu wild weekend in Vegas. There, she meets Gannon, a darkly seductive and oh-so-dangerous businessman who knows exactly how to handle her.
With Major asking for a second chance and Gannon haunting her dreams, Nan has to decide who to give her heart to. But what she doesn’t realize is that these players are involved in a much bigger game—and they’re already two moves ahead of her.
Why I Picked This Book / What I Think So Far:
I picked this book because it's the final book in the Rosemary Beach series. I haven't read the past two or three books but since this is the last one I think I should read it. I'm anxious to see if Abbi can make me a fan of the evil villainess, Nan. I skimmed the ending (a bad habit of mine) when I first received the book and I liked it so hopefully, I'll like getting to the ending. We'll see if I'm a #NanLover or not when I finish Up In Flames!
Here's what else I've read since last week...
Lightning Kissed (Lucents #1) by Lila Felix
Blurb:
Colby Evans can leap from one country to the next in a heartbeat. She can see every sunset in every time zone in the same day. She can travel across the world in a flash. She defies gravity and physics with every breath she takes. She's tested her abilities and found them limitless.
She is the lightning. She is Lucent. And nothing can stop her.
Except him.
Theodore Ramsey isn't supposed to be able to flash like Colby. The power of travel is passed on from mother to daughter in their people. Except once in every hundred generations.
Theo is the one.
He can flash like Colby. And it makes him a target to their enemies and to himself. His abilities change everything he knows about life and throws his future into an uncertain tangent. In fact, the only thing certain in his life is the love he feels for Colby.
Their love defies time and space and has been the only constant thing in their lives since childhood. But even their infallible love will be stretched to its limits.
She will risk her life to protect him. But he will risk everything to protect them all.
My Review:
Colby is loud and reckless, Theo is calm and reasonable. The yin to her yang. Theo has loved Colby since they were kids and she stood up on the first day of school and told the class she hated checkers just because he said he liked them.
But Colby is a Lucent, a female-only species, with lightning inside her that gives her the ability to "flash" (travel) from place to place in the blink of an eye. When Theo tells Colby he can flash too (a rarity for males) Colby breaks up with him. Colby is under close observation by the Synod - the leaders of the Lucents - and Colby knows that being with Theo would put a target on his back meaning the government might come after him to take his gift. Colby shudders at the thought of losing him like she lost her dad or the torture her friend Sway endured when she was captured by the government and had her power stripped away turning her into a powerless Resin.
Theo is unwilling to give up on Colby. He's loved her for so long and he knows she still loves him; so he sets off to learn more about what he suspects he is: an Eldolon, a male lucent with the immense powers.
When Theo comes clean to Colby about his suspicions Colby is worried for Theo and demands to come with him on his quest. As they travel around the world and find help with a Guardian named Collin and Pema, the descendant of the last eldolon, Eivan, Theo and Colby fall back into love. But trouble is never far behind. Who is the real enemy to Theo and Colby? The Synod? The Government? The Resin leaders? What's their agenda and how far will they go to get what they want?
I liked this book because it was different. It's a different kind of paranormal/fantasy romance and at times I liked and disliked both Colby and Theo. I liked their love but they were both extremes - Colby could be careless and Theo could be too straight-laced. Collin was awesome and I hope in the next books we get to see more of his awesome character. I'm on the fence about Pema - can she really be trusted? Who's betraying them? The idea of Lucents is unique so if you're tired of the usual vampire, werewolf, fae novels I think you'll really like this book.
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
last weekend I also read...
The Curse of the Bruel Coven by Sabrina Ramoth
Blurb:
When secrets from the past collide with the present, the consequences may be deadly.
Growing up in a small town in Louisiana, seventeen-year-old Vivienne Davenport's life is that of an ordinary teenager. At least, until the untimely death of her mother reveals a family secret. She's adopted . . . and her real mom is a witch.
The truth of her lineage only complicates Vivienne's life further. Buried deep within her family’s history of magic is a deadly curse that has plagued her family for generations.
When her birth mom disappears, Vivienne must tap into her suppressed powers in order to save her long-lost mother. And herself.
Can Vivienne become the witch she needs to be? Or will her newfound powers prove too much for her to handle? Only one thing is certain, Vivienne will soon learn that all magic has a price.
The Curse of the Bruel Coven, the first book in a new and exciting young adult fantasy series is sure to cast a spell on you.
My Review:
When 17-year-old Vivienne goes through her recently deceased mother's photo albums in search of a photo from her childhood that she needs for school she stumbles across a photograph of her with an unfamiliar woman that she has a strong family resemblance to. Vivienne's grandmother "Nemma" confirms her suspicions that she is in fact, adopted.
With the help of her best friend Savannah, Vivienne tracks her mother down in New Orleans and they set off to see her. When they arrive at Claire (Vivienne's birth mother)'s house in the French Quarter there is an instant connection between Vivienne and Claire, but as Claire lets them in her mood is frosty and dismissive. After not receiving a sufficient answer as to why Claire gave Vivienne up Vivienne gets angry and Claire's coffee table begins to shake. This confirms Claire's worst fears: her firstborn daughter's powers have awakened leaving her in high risk of danger from an "immortal" or vampire that's been trying to feed on the blood of a Bruel family firstborn daughter since his creation during the Civil War.
Vivienne doesn't believe Claire's story about witches and vampire and thinking her crazy she and Savannah get up to leave. They're nearly out of the city limits when Savannah realizes she has forgotten her cell phone so they have to go back. When they return to Claire's house everything has been ransacked and Claire is gone. A girl appears at the top of the stairs - Vivienne's half-sister Mira and realizing what has happened she takes the girls to their aunt's apartment above a magic shop in the Quarter.
Vivienne is suddenly introduced to a whole host of relatives she never knew she had; a sister, cousins, an aunt, and a grandmother. When a location spell for Claire goes wrong Grand'Mere (Vivienne's grandmother) asks for her help to locate Claire before it's too late.
Will Vivienne and the others be able to find Claire and stop whatever witches are aiding the immortal one? Can Vivienne get control over her powers or is she not as strong as everyone expects her to be? Is the immortal one really evil?
At first, I was afraid this book was a little too fast paced. The entire book - from Vivienne finding out she was adopted to traveling to see her birth mother to her birth mother's disappearance and the process of finding Claire - transpires in about a week's time. However, the more I read this book the more I liked it. I love that it's set in New Orleans, my favorite city in the world, and the book is really easy to get into - possibly because of the fast pace. I sat down and read this book in one sitting. I really liked Vivienne's dreams that take her back to the past and I look forward to seeing how Vivienne grows, both as a character and into her powers, in the next book. The Curse of the Bruel Coven is definitely an interesting read.
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
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