Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.
But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.
Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.
When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

Bravo! Bravo *claps* This novel delivered way more than I was expecting. I picked up the book expecting a Tamora Pierce novel (I hated those novels... I seem to be one of the very few that doesn't adore them to death.) Or, I expected a Throne of Glass novel (which I also hated, contrary to popular opinion.)  so I had braced myself for a lot of nonsense and boredom and irritation. (but I picked the novel up in the first place because I was holding out a hope from all hopes that I would get something satisfying, and boy did I!)

This novel just punches through the stories walls one by one. I love the fact that Kyra's love triangle so to speak, wasn't in the forefront of the story, and that she did absolutely nothing to engage or tease either party (that's my pet peeve in books.) Kyra thinks on her feet, and boy can her feet move.... It's definitely a plus that this is not a black and white novel, there is a lot of shifting, back and forth and the parties aren't quite concrete until the end.

When Kyra has to prove herself to the band of thieves, I love how, instead of beating them at their own game or trying to become one of them, she just blows them away with who she naturally is, and proves that there is sometimes more value to stealth than there is brute strength.

I identified with Kyra, and her homelessness, I identified with her desire to care for Idalee and Lettie.
Best of all,
I LOVED Tristam. That's what I call an A+ character. He's a dashing noble knight who eventually falls in love  with a member, of not just one, but TWO of his highest sworn enemies.

It's rather impressive how naturally the progression goes from aggressor, to passive, to lover.
he's my kind of book boyfriend.

Anyway, I better wrap this up.
Five stars, I will eagerly be awaiting book #2.
I thank Hyperion for the ARC and I must announce that in no way did it influence my opinion on this novel.
I HIGHLY recommend this novel. It's a dream of all medieval dreams, and is certainly going to be a hard book to follow.

About the Author

You can read Ten Facts About her HERE

Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy #1) by Anna Banks

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...
Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

First, may I say, aren't those covers beautiful? I've always had a thing for underwater covers (like “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer) I was originally going to read this book when my pool construction was finished. (so I could just feel like I was taking an awesome vacation.)
I couldn’t wait that long. I ended up sitting on the couch, and devouring this novel, and it’s sequel immediately. It was fantastic. I could feel the struggle of Galen. What he should do, and why he didn’t want to do it, but knew he had to.

And then, the glorious moment when…well, ok, I won’t spoil it.

Nonetheless, I love Galen and his old world nature. I love his perseverance. I love Emma and her propensity to get in to trouble. I like her spitfire nature, and her compassion towards living things (I’d say animals, but that doesn't really fit.)

I like a lot of the relationships presented in this novel, mainly because they have presented different kinds of love, and how each of them can be just as powerful as the other. If you are looking for a good summer read (that you don't have to fight to enjoy) this is the novel for you. I seriously enjoyed its rolling action (without the taxation of some of the more serious themed summer novels.) Such a sweet romantic story! I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment!

Masters & Slayers (Tales of Starlight #1) by Bryan Davis

Adrian Masters was taught by his father to always respect women and never raise his sword against them. Marcelle fights with a sword better than most men and she fights with vengeance. The fighting matches are good, and yes, entertaining, especially when she can embarrass her old friend Adrian about his father's way of thinking. Chivalry is dead and she didn't care if it was. If chivalry existed her mother would still be alive.
Adrian  would be the best swordsman if it weren'’t for Marcelle (..er..swordmaiden). True to his honor and upbringing, he always forfeits against her. It never bothered him too much though. These matches were just practice. What he really wanted to do was go out and find the missing. People had been going missing for years, disappearing without a trace. There was one theory: That they had been enslaved on another world called starlight. Starlight is rumored to be the most dangerous place in any realm, it’'s ruled by ruthless dragons who will do anything to reap profits. Adrian'’s dream comes true when he is allowed to go to starlight, the only problem is his partner, Marcelle. While they both have amazing skills with a sword, Adrian would prefer a stealthy, strategic approach, while hot-headed, impulsive Marcelle would rather just go on the attack. Adrian must get to Starlight, keep the two of them out of danger,  and save the slaves. With his fierce devotion, Adrian will do anything to get Marcelle and the children off Starlight. Even if he dies trying.

I love this book. First of all, I just love Bryan Davis. All his books are fantastic for a lot of reasons. I could blab on and on about them but one of the biggest factors is that his plots are complex and interesting. You have to own a brain to truly get the real message. His books always whisper to me ‘can you handle it?’ I love the challenge and I love his bighearted heroes. Not to mention, I love pretty much any book with a sword in it (one of my more shallow reasons.) It’s not for the weak reader, but I enjoy them immensely. I definitely recommend this book.

Allon by Shawn Lamb

The land of Allon was a paradise until the fall of the Guardians paved the way for the rise of the Dark Way. Evil King Marcellus now controls the land as his forefathers did, with an iron fist and the help of the evil spirit, Dagar. But an ancient prophecy speaks of a time to come when the Guardians will return and Allon will be restored—lead by its rightful heir. All the while, the exiled teenage Promised Prince, Ellis, must prove himself worthy to be king through a series of supernatural trials that test his character, wisdom, courage, and his heart. The first in the Allon series, this magical tale of adventure, destiny, and faith will test the reader’s strength and awaken their spirit of adventure

This book presents a very unique challenge, it has a European influence. In no way is this an absolute negative, it is just something to think about personally. American influence is often in my mind referred to as ‘the easy format’ because American writers often shift the focus away from the actual background of the character to the plot or action (or what’s just happening at that moment.) An American mind might have the opinion that European influence has a shift on the characters,that’s false. European influence (these are not professional terms or accounts, just something that I have recognized in reading) doesn’t have a shift at all. It concentrates heavily on both the plot and the characters. Sometimes, we may think that it is excess complication. That is also false. Were the problem really is, is in the brain. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but if I were to guess, I would say it is the culture and society (or lack thereof), we simply concentrate on the situation too much and not the people themselves. Now, you may already know: Shawn Lamb is American! I find this to be really intriguing. I did notice in the book, that it is not constantly in ‘European mode.’ Often, the chapters with the most dialogue, are more to the American style. Which means: you can really use this book to adjust to the European style, before you go on to books entirely written in that way (such as ‘The Princess Plot’ by Kirsten Boie.)

Bottom line: This may not be for beginning readers, but there really is no negative to this book. Plus, I like to challenge my stubborn American mind to read a different style. Don’t get frustrated, try it again if you don’t get it, brains are stubborn objects. One huge positive: NO CUSSING!
Food for thought: Maybe this is the reason why a lot of Americans find things like Shakespeare difficult to read. What do you think? Need more encouragement?
DARE TO READ

The Other Life (The Other Life #1) by Susanne Winnacker

"3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?”

I loved this book, I’m sad that it isn't getting much attention! I loved that it wasn't just ‘kind of’ dystopian. This is honest to goodness zombie, desperate measures for desperate times, dystopia. It had beautiful side-stories, a dash of mystery, and a heaping tablespoon of romance. You guys know that’s all I need, fighting zombies with a good looking guy. Booyah.  I can’t wait to see what Susanne rolls out next. Oh, and I’m really eager to find out what happens with - *oopsie, I can't say that here.*

I absolutely recommend this book. I just wish it had more attention!
This book was given to me by Marshall Cavendish in exchange for an honest review

Cover Craze Comment:

Okay, I really have to comment on the covers, even though I usually don’t. The ARC cover is the one with the girl upfront and the boy walking on the pavement. I love that cover, it tells me everything I need to know about the book.

The actual cover is the one with the butterfly. I like the ARC cover better, but if you take a closer look at the butterfly, it’s wings have some creepy art on them. Love that..and the fact that the butterfly almost looks like blood. All in all, both covers are cool.