Title: True (Elixir #3)
Author: Hilary Duff
Published: April, 2013 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 287
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Following the harrowing events of Elixir and Devoted—and the ceremony that almost killed Sage—Clea faces a new reality: With Sage’s soul in Nico’s body, the love of her life looks an awful lot like her best friend’s boyfriend. Can Clea and Sage really be happy under these circumstances?

Clea wants to try to enjoy their new life together, but Sage is acting different—angry—and she struggles to keep her friends from finding out what has happened to him. Something is clearly haunting Sage, and Clea is losing control. Can she trust her friends with the dangerous truth, or will she have to risk losing Sage to madness?

Final Thoughts:
Coming from a massive Hilary fan from way back, I have to say I didn’t like this book. What happened? Elixir showed a lot of promise, adding in mystery, warring factions, and a fun romance. It went downhill in the second book, but compared to this one, it was a masterpiece. Okay, it wasn’t a masterpiece, but it put this one to shame. There’s barely a plot anymore and the romance, it’s hardly setting a good example. Sage has become physically abusive and Clea just puts up with it. What’s worse is that she tells us she’s not one of those girls, but everything she does just shows that she is.

Title: Devoted (Elixir #2)
Author: Hilary Duff
Published: September, 2011 by Simon & Schuster
Thanks: Simon & Schuster, AU
Pages: 350
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Since Sage was kidnapped, Clea has no way of knowing if he is alive or dead. And even though she has only just discovered they were soulmates, she feels like a part of her is lost forever. What’s worse, she can’t even turn to her best friend Ben—because every time she looks at him, all she sees is his betrayal.

But waiting for something to happen is not an option, so Clea is ready for action. Suffering through dreams of seeing Sage with another woman, she makes an uneasy alliance with Sage’s enemies and sets out to be reunited with Sage…in this life or the next.

Final Thoughts:
I probably could have written five different reviews if I’d chosen to write it while I was still reading this. Devoted had me intrigued, impressed, shocked, frustrated, and downright ready to throw the book away. Not necessarily in that order. A lot of new ground is covered in its second outing. The feel of the first book is still there, but we’re left with an air of tension throughout the majority of this one. While Devoted does focus predominantly on Clea and Sage, and their struggles, I found the ancillary characters actually held a lot more depth.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James (won – thanks Braiden @ Book Probe)
• The Riddle Of The Sands by Geoffrey Knight (purchased)
• Devoted by Hilary Duff (thanks to publishers)
• After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel (won – thanks K @ The Lady Critic’s Library)

It’s been two weeks since I’ve done my mailbox post. I only received one book last week so I thought I’d hold off until I had a couple more to show. I haven’t gotten a lot since then, but that’s not a bad thing. It might help get through some that I’ve got waiting. Plus it’s giving my bank balance a breather. I plan on reading Devoted at the end of this week, which I’m looking forward to. I enjoyed Elixir back at the start of the year, even though some others weren’t too thrilled with it.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
de Pierres, Marianne Night Creatures #1, Burn Bright
Oliver, Jana The Demon Trappers #1, Forsaken

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Supernaturally by Kiersten White (purchased)
• Elixir by Hilary Duff (purchased)
• Stargazer by Claudia Gray (purchased)
• Hourglass by Claudia Gray (purchased)
• Afterlife by Claudia Gray (purchased)
• Need by Carrie Jones (purchased)
• Captivate by Carrie Jones (purchased)
• Dark Heart Forever by Lee Monroe (purchased)
• Dark Heart Rising by Lee Monroe (purchased)
• Trial By Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (purchased)
• Claire De Lune by Christine Johnson (purchased)
• Heist Society by Ally Carter (purchased)
• Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (purchased)
• Outside In by Maria V. Snyder (purchased)
• Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck (purchased)
• Tiger’s Quest by Colleen Houck (purchased)
• Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (purchased)
• Passion by Lauren Kate (purchased)
• Pride by Rachel Vincent (purchased)
• Alpha by Rachel Vincent (purchased)
• Days Like This by Alison Stewart (purchased)
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (purchased)

My favourite purchase this week is my Charmed Book Of Shadows, plus the lectern, I had to get that as well, otherwise the book would just sit in my cupboard. The Book was released back in ’07, but was discontinued before I got around to buying one, so when it randomly popped up in the Big W catalogue after so many years, and for half the original RRP, I had to get one. It has some of the original artwork from the book used in the tv show, plus the dvds from all eight seasons, stuck to holders on the pages. Now onto the fiction books. Looking at them all spread out like this, it makes me realise how bad my spending got this week. Some were cheap though. Heist Society was only $1.20, so I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve already read five of these books, but that still leaves heaps to read. I’ve been trying to track down Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series. While I was in Brisbane for the Lauren Kate signing on Saturday, I tried thirteen stores and only managed to come across a lone copy of Pride in one of them. Alpha, only just released here in Australia, was a lot easier to find. I’ll keep my eye out for the rest of them. I can’t wait to start Trial By Fire, I really loved the first book. I want to start Maggie Stiefvater books soon too, but Amazon shipped Linger to me before Shiver. There’s so many there, that I’m not going discuss the rest. If there’s one there you think I should get to sooner rather than later, let me know.

Here are my reviews from the past two weeks:
Davies, Jocelyn A Beautiful Dark #1, A Beautiful Dark
Kate, Lauren Fallen #1, Fallen
Kate, Lauren Fallen #2, Torment
Vincent, Rachel Soul Screamers #3, My Soul To Keep
Vincent, Rachel Soul Screamers #4, My Soul To Steal

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Breaking the Spine and serves to showcase those pesky books that aren’t released yet, but that we’re eagerly awaiting! This week, my WoW is…

Title: Devoted (Elixir #2)
Author: Hilary Duff
Published: 11 October, 2011 by Simon & Schuster

Since Sage was kidnapped, Clea has no way of knowing if he is alive or dead. And even though she has only just discovered they were soulmates, she feels like a part of her is lost forever. What’s worse, she can’t even turn to her best friend Ben—because every time she looks at him, all she sees is his betrayal.

But waiting for something to happen is not an option, so Clea is ready for action. Suffering through dreams of seeing Sage with another woman, she makes an uneasy alliance with Sage’s enemies and sets out to be reunited with Sage…in this life or the next.

I know celebrity written books tend to get frowned upon, but Elixir was actually quite enjoyable. If you’ve been avoiding it like the plague because of the author, maybe try it from the library and see what you think. It plays heavily on reincarnation, soul mates and immortality. And after the way the first book ended, it was begging for a sequel. I’m glad that’s happening. I’m not too fond of the cover design change though. The first book really stood out with its faux-suede purple cover with the flower, which had relevance to the story. It seems they’re trying a new direction with the artwork, and I think it looks too generic now. Either way, I’ll still be buying.

What are you waiting on? Feel free to link me up and I’ll check yours out!