Title: Taken By Storm (Raised By Wolves #3)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: May, 2012 by EgmontUSA
Pages: 320
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack. She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate. A rogue werewolf is attacking humans. The risk of exposure threatens to destroy pack life, and the center of the crisis is Cedar Ridge territory—her own lands.

Bryn has no choice but to attend the meeting, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent. The subject is the rogue wolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has. Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid. But it doesn’t prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants. To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.

Final Thoughts:
Not as good as it could have been. The majority of this one felt more like filler than the final book of a trilogy. With a new set of paranormals added into the mix, a new villain, and a trek or two across the countryside, I felt like much of the book was wasted. And with what did happen, it didn’t come across as gripping—not even the characters had much of an effect on me. Admittedly, it had been a while since I’d read the second book, but it was as if all of the character development had been done prior to this book and they were just there, going through the motions. I felt no connection to any of these people, and honestly, the “shock twists” had little impact because of this.

Title: Trial By Fire (Raised By Wolves #2)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: June, 2011 by EgmontUSA
Pages: 357
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.

But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were. With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.

Final Thoughts:
Not as compelling as its predecessor, Trial By Fire felt like it was lacking something for a good chunk of the book. With Bryn now an Alpha, there is a distinct change in the dynamic, but personally, I didn’t think it was one for the better. The politics take over the story with very little actually going on until the final quarter. When it got going, it became great, so I’m left wondering if the pacing had been tweaked if I would have enjoyed this book a whole lot more than I actually did.

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Titles link back to Goodreads
• Whisper by Alyson Noel (thanks to Publisher)
• Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (thanks to Publisher)
• Tricked by Kevin Hearne (purchased)
• Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris (purchased)
• Endure by Carrie Jones (purchased)
• Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (purchased)
• Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (purchased)
• Hush Hush: Graphic Novel by Becca Fitzpatrick (purchased)
• Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross (purchased)
• The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (thanks to Publisher)
• City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (purchased)

I took a detour from my reading after I got stuck of Red Glove for over four weeks, so I decided not to post any of my book goodies until I got back into reviewing. I’ve since finished that book, as well as Endure. Neither particularly excited me, but I’m hoping City Of Lost Souls will fix that slump for me. Those books usually suck me back in. I was one of those that actually enjoyed the Simon focus last time around. With my bookshelves still packed away in storage, I’ve just got boxes of books shoved under my bed and now piles growing around the room. These have only added to that. Not that that’s a bad thing, I love getting more books. I just wish I had room to display them again.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Black, Holly The Curse Workers #2, Red Glove
Jones, Carrie Need #4, Endure

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Touch Jus Accardo	Warm Bodies Isaac Marion	Dawn Of Darkness Daniel A. Kaine
If I Die Rachel Vincent	Stick Andrew Smith	Burn Bright Marianne de Pierres
Forever Maggie Stiefvater	Black Swan Rising Lee Carroll	All These Things I’ve Done Gabrielle Zevin
Raised By Wolves Jennifer Lynn Barnes	The Demon’s Surrender Sarah Rees Brennan	White Cat Holly Black
Alpha Rachel Vincent	City Of Fallen Angels* Cassandra Clare	Unraveled* Gena Showalter

* Review not available

Title: Every Other Day
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: December, 2011 by EgmontUSA
Thanks: EgmontUSA via NetGalley
Pages: 336
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Every other day, Kali D’Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She’s human.

And then every day in between . . .She’s something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she’ll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Final Thoughts:
This one turned out to be nothing like I’d thought it would. The first chapter didn’t reel me in so I set aside for a few days, little did I know, chapter two was completely different. For some reason I’d expected it to be all about demon hunting, instead it turned into an awesome paranormal conspiracy. The characters felt real, each with their own intertwined histories that made them who they were. Here, not only did the main character get ample development time, the two sidekicks did as well. While there could have been more on the romance front, with the tight timeframe of the plot, I’m relieved it didn’t fall into the trappings of insta-luv.

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!

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!

• Evernight by Claudia Gray (purchased)
• Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (purchased)
• Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter (purchased)
• Winter’s Shadows by M.J. Hearle (won) Thanks Lisa @ Badass Bookie
• Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz (purchased)
• Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (purchased)
• Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (purchased)

I borrowed Evernight and Raised By Wolves from my library last month, and I enjoyed them both so I snapped them up cheap on AmazonUK. I also order the following books from both series, but Amazon decided to split my order and send me the ones I’ve already read first so I’m still waiting on them. Thanks to Lisa from Badass Bookie for my copy of Winter’s Shadow. It’s another one I library’d and really loved, so I’m happy to have my own copy now. She also sent me all of those bookmarks, badges and even a little Possession bottle opener. That tiny booklet also has the first chapter of Divergent in it. The rest of my books here, I haven’t read. If you read my IMM last week, you’d see I now have two copies of Blood Magic, one US hardcover and one UK paperback. I actually like both covers, I just hope I enjoy the book once I get around to it.

Here are my reviews from the past week:
Vincent, Rachel Soul Screamers #2, My Soul To Save
Weatherly, L.A. Angel #1, Angel

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