ARC Book Review > Homecoming

Cloaked Devices 0.5

By:  Cecilia Robert
Published By: Cecilia Robert
Published Date: October 25th 2013 
Pages:  121 ebook
Tags:  Adult, Steampunk, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Fantasy Fiction, Series 

Source:  NetGalley (Save A Tree)

Homecoming is a new imaginary world by Cecilia Roberts which is full of shapeshifters & steampunkery combined with swoon worthy lads. An introductory novella for the coming Cloaked Devices series.

Sera Czedar was mated with Levian Grayson five long years ago. Five long years ago, Sera ran away from her wedding bed, her home & family without leaving a snippet of a clue as to where or why. 

Dear Lev's tormented panther paced around in need of his mate. He would do anything to bring her home, to have the other part of his soul home.  The time has come to do just this after finally finding a clue to where abouts. 

"Soul mates aren't supposed to break their partner's heart. They should be the ones holding it, guarding it against the world."

Vanezia is a city known for its outcast citizens. Sera made herself home among the rift raft as a tenacious woman not to be trifled with less you want to fell the hurt. Known as Storm in the underground fighting ring she has solidly brought down robust opponents in order to bring in extra income. 

"He rubbed his neck, curbing his wayward thoughts, then watched her as she swung her hands and punched tiny fists into the air, looking completely harmless."

Source

Here is how I picture Sera:

Even more has changed when Sera shocks Levian with some most shocking news. The Mad Scientist was most surly shocked with the spinning twist of the plot. Pleasantly so!

Get ready to flutter your fan and blush as the alpha male panther makes you swoon through some raw emotional desire and primal hotness. *Prr* Seriously, he is one intense dominate kitty that made me grin on more than one occasion. Leve even had stead fast Sera swooning and weak at the knees... several times over. 

Primarily a shifter genre novel, however, there are notes and dashes of steampunkery elements sprinkled through the pages. Leaving this novella to be a most desirable fast fun read with some forbidden steam. Luckily for us there will be more to this series to enjoy in the coming future.



The only note of negative thought from the Mad Scientist has to be that the novella is just too short. MS wanted more. With this being just a glimpse MS eagerly awaits the series. 

** Thanks to NetGalley for the ability to read this ebook which so ever did not influence or bend my thoughts in any manner. All Mad thoughts are presented in the right mind of a twisted brain of the Mad Scientist!**

Between by Cyndi Tefft

Between (Between, #1)

By Cyndi Tefft

Publisher: via Smashwords, 2011

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Date Finished: 17/5/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Some Action

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "Ravi's lips were soft and familiar against mine, but my mind was elsewhere."
~Last Line: " 'I can't think of anything else I'd like more,' he said, then brought his lips to mine."

Review: Thank you SOO mucj to Cyndi Tefft for contacting me and asking me to review your novel. I have to say that this was an ahmazing novel! It pulled me in within the first chapter, and I always went back to it to read more.

We meet out heroine, Lindsey Waters, while she's being driven home by her boyfriend, Ravi -- right before she dies. *And cue the hot guy in a kilt that transports dead people to heaven!* Introducing Aiden Macrae. He saw/felt God's prescence as a small boy and, when he committed suicide (read the book to find out why!), God kept him at an in-between state. So of course when Lindsey died, he was supposed to take her to heaven, even though he never actually did.

Obviously, Aiden and Lindsey fall in love with each other. Their romance is so simple, and you could feel thier happiness when they were with each other. Like it was just radiating off the pages. When they were torn away from each other, it was the hardest thing to watch.

Overall, this book was ah-mazing and I am anxious for Hell Transporter to be released :).

The Night My Life Changed Forever by Sara Lisowski

The Night My Life Changed Forever

By Sara Lisowski

Publisher: via Smashwords, 2010

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Date Finished: 23/4/2011

Genres: Mature Teen, Romance, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Serious Issues

Mary is a 16 year old girl, that goes to a party to hopefully get with the boy she thought she loved. After some events at the party, she realises that he isn't the boy for her. A new boy walks into the party and changes Mary's life forever, is this the real thing? Is this what Mary has been striving to have?
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "A life of danger, boys, trying to gain respect, 'fun' and never-ending turmoil . . ."
~Last Line: "This has been the most romantic moment of my life, dancing and experiencing this with my love, my heart, my life, my Zackary."

Review: This novel was a great short story to read in between book tours and Buddy Reads. The love scenes could have been minimized, or even taken out completely, but the general plot line was awesome.

The two main characters, Zack and Mary, never knew each other until one night at a party they both happened to be attending. Over the next few days they fall deeper and deeper in love with each other. It was definitely true love, and their parents, especially Mary's, were happy to see their children happy.

Zack cared for Mary, like, a LOT. There was no mistaking his love for her. He would do anything to keep her safe, anything to make her happy. Mary cared equally for Zack -- well, maybe a little less that Zack's extreme. She was so much happier after she met Zack. Her previous events in life had been haunting her for years.

Zack and Mary sort of remind me of Clary and Jace from the Mortal Instruments series, as far as loving each other goes, anyway. It was all they could do just to stop thinking about each other for even five minutes.

There's actually only one love scene in this book, and it was a little graphic, but not an extreme caution. This novel was pretty good. I hate that it was so short, though, because the plot was one that would've been great in a 200 - 350 page book :).

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Heist Society (Heist Society, #1)

By Ally Carter

Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2010

287 pages, PDF file

Date Finished: 12/4/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Some Action, Romance, Realistic Fiction

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history—and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "No one knew for certain when the trouble started at the Calgan School.""
~Last Line: "And yet, she knew she could be."

Review: This novel was marvelous! I have been writing to read it for a while, but my recent motivation was when a fellow blogger (Destiny @ Green Lillipads) asked me to BuddyRead with it. I read it in 2 days, give or take.

The main character, Katarina Bishop, belongs to a family whose profession is thievery; not a very good one to fall into, but hey: You do whatcha gotta do, right?

Anyway, Katarina's good friend Hale was definitely my favorite character. The first thing that interested me about him? His name: W.W. Hale the fifth. Katarina has known him for years and still never succeeded in correctly guessing his name.

Hale's also caring, smart in his own way, and apparently super-handsome. Even if Kat doesn't want to admit it, she has absolutely no idea whatsoever what she would do without Hale :). That's what we call good 'ole romance.

This really was a good book. I am glad that the sequel, Uncommon Criminals, is coming out later this year. Can't remember exactly, but I think it comes out in August. Lookin' forward to its release!



**Click HERE to read Destiny's review of this novel!!**

This Bird Flew Away by Lynda M. Martin

This Bird Flew Away (Bria Connelly, #1)

By Lynda M. Martin

Publisher: Black Rose Writing, 2010

312 pages, Google Docs & Kindle Edition

Date Finished: 9/4/2011

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Some Action, Mature Teen, Some Romance, Serious Issues

What is real love? The whole world wants to know. They should ask Bria Jean, because she has it all figured out. Opinionated, stubborn and full of woe, Bria would tell you real love is having one person you can always count on through thick and thin. For her, that's Jack. And it doesn't matter to her that she's nine and he's twenty-three-not one bit. When, at the age of twelve, Bria disappears, he and his Aunt Mary search for her, and when she surfaces, injured, abused and traumatized, Jack fights to become her guardian with no idea of the trials ahead of him. By then, Bria is thirteen going on thirty, full of her own ideas on how her life should run and with some very fixed notions about who is in charge.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "According to Auntie Peg, if you couldn't hear my voice then I must have my nose in a book."
~Last Line: " 'Uhm. . .how are you?' "

Review: First off, let me say that I really want a physical copy of this novel. It was intriguingly appealing.

Our main character was the interesting Bria Jean Connelly. At first it took me a few chapters to really get into thinking in her point of view, but the farther along I got the better the book was. Then something terrible happens (well, a lot of bad things happened, but what I found worst was...).

Bria Jean runs away from her aunt and uncle's house after having to defend herself from being abused. She tries to reach her other aunt's house on her own, and when she is somewhat close, she runs into an old acquaintance. Then he gets durnk, she gets sold, and poor Bria Jean gets raped.

That was the hardest part of the book for me. It broke my heart right in two to know that things like that happen everyday all over the world. But to have it happening and seem so close to home (it's written in first person), it made my cry.

However, this novel is not just terrible happenings. Bria has a love for rodeos. I find that aspect of Bria's personality truly amazing. I've always wanted to ride a horse, so I'm glad that Martin is letting me live my dream through one of her well-thought out characters.

Bria Jean honestly did have a hard life. I mean, sometimes I could sort of relate, but other times I couldn't, but still wasn't completely lost. She helped me figure out some things not to do, though. I wish I could tell you; you probably wouldn't even believe me, but ... OMG. It's just so big. It hit me hard smackdab in the forehead because I could possibly be in her position one day... Not gonna give it away, though :).

This book is definitely superb, and y'all should take the time out to read it if you have the chance!

 and a half :)

Read It With A Buddy #5 - Deadly Little Secret

Deadly Little Secret (Touch, #1)
By Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2008
705 pages, e-book (iPod Touch)
Date Finished: 11/3/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age, Some Mystery, Some Action, Realistic Fiction

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I could have died three months ago."
~Last Line: "But then he tells me goodbye anyway."

Leanne's Review: I was looking for books one day on me iPod and came across Deadly Little Games, the third book in the Touch series. I read a sample of it and bought Deadly Little Secret. I immensely enjoyed this novel. The concept is different than most of the books I have read lately. Like all books, some of the characters were likable, some you just wanted to slap, and others you just didn't know why their motives were. That brings me to Camie's stalker. That whole situation confused me to no end. They were VERY wishy-washy, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to their point of view the whole time :). I am definitely buying Deadly Little Lies and Games. Laurie Fairia Stolarz is an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read some more of her work.



Zakiya's Review: WOW. This book was super-ahmazing! Leanne (who I believe is mentioned at least once in about 3/4 of my post:D) recommended that I read this; she had it on her iPod, so why not?!

I'm really glad that I read this, though. The main character, Camelia, is just your average high-schooler, with average friends, and average problems -- except for the fact that she has a stalker. Enter Ben, the new kid, also a supposed murderer. He has a special gift, which, even when unknown, sets him apart from the in-crowd. Everyone thinks that Ben is the one stalking Camelia, but he isn't. He's trying to help save Camelia's life as much as he possibly can.

I have to say, this novel was pretty darn-tootin' good. LOL. I read through it pretty quickly (yes, I remember what I read); the characters' behaviors weren't cliche at all, which I enjoyed. I haven't read a book with a stalker befor e(that I can remember) so it was something new to read about.

There was a little action near the end, and, as always. we had a little romance. Ben doesn something terribly heartbreaking, for Camelia if no one else, at the end of the book. Everything that happened in this book was somewhat different than others, unquestionably. Camelia's best friends, Kimmie and Wes, were ones that I liked. Kimmie was always trying to be a good friend and listen, but gets fed up at the end with Camelia always standing up for Ben -- a guy that she's not even sure she can trust -- and not even take the time to ask about on-going problems in her friends' lives.

But anyway, everything is really awesome at the end. I'm glad that there is a second and third -- and soon to be fourth -- novel after this one. If you haven't indulged yourself in this bovel, you gotta get it sometime! :P

Reasons On My Wrist by Racaneya

Reasons On My Wrist
By Racaneya
Publisher: Racaneya (via Smashwords), 2010
465 pages, e-book (iPod Touch)
Date Finished: 4/3/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Cassie, a suicidal teen, learns many reasons about her purpose in life after dealing with death, a love triangle, saving another life, and going through a life changing event.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I thought I was dead."
~Last Line: "Because I would rather be a bad soul, than one that does not exist."

Review: My bestie Leanne got this novel on her iPod and let me read it. The first thing I thought, just from reading the title, was, "What in the world?! Don't wanna read about an emo girl." Then Leanne explained to me that she doesn't cut herself frequently. To reassure all ofyou, she honestly doesn't.

The main character Cassie, has a lot of problems in her life, including her home life and frequent hospital visits, and she cuts herself to deal with it all. Then add in Jordan, Cassie's crush. Maybe not a first, but she turns from hating him to loving him. A lot of stupid lies get her lots of places; almost all of them were unexpected and unnecessary.

There was, as in all novels these days, romance. There were also sadness-watery-eye moments scattered throughout the book. I liked this because it meant that the work wasn't just musht and emotional, nor was it too serious in every chapter.

I can't really think of anything that I just "hated," but Cassie does make some absolutely stupid choices in the book. She has way too many emotions and problems in her life, and she's getting caught up. She tries to please everyone except her, really, and in an overall view, it doesn't work out for her all too well.

Anyway, I would definitely recommend this novel. Great entertainment when you're reading a slow book, or a book that you're just not feeling at the moment.



Quotes from the Book:

" 'Can I draw your feet?' I said. . . .
'My feet?' he gasped. . . .
'Yes, your feet. You act like I'm asking to draw--'
'Okay, that's enough,' he said."

Killer by Sara Shepard

Killer (Pretty Little Liars, #6)
By Sara Shepard
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books, 2009
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Date Finished: 26/2/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, Mystery, Chick Literature

In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystals. But pictures often lie— and so do Rosewood's four prettiest girls.

Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things—things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn't die with her.

Hanna's on a mission to corrupt Rosewood's youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria's snooping into her boyfriend's past. Spencer's stealing— from her family. And pure little Emily's abstaining from abstinence.

The girls should be careful, though. They thought they were safe when Ali's killer was arrested and A's true identity was finally revealed. But now there's a new A in town turning up the heat. And this time Rosewood is going to burn.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "What if, all of a sudden, you could remember every single second of your entire life?"

Review: The sixth installation in the Pretty Little Liars series was really intriguing. I immediately started the novel after I finished Wicked.

There was more mystery, which was (1) to be expected, and (2) greatly appreciated. The addition of mystery makes the characters behave in ways you would never in a million dreams imagine. Having said as much, I must add that you can never be oh-so-sure as to what shall occur next in books like these.

"A" is sending the girls all kinds of clues to help them find Ali's true killer. OMG! There is a shocker at the very end of the story (the last sentence matter of fact; I didn't post it because of the HUGE spoiler) that will make you hurry-scurry-hurry (hehe) down to the store or on your eReader and buy Heartless.

Overall, this novel was really ah-mazing; if you haven't began reading the PLL series yet, I honestly do NOT understand what you're waiting on! If you enjoy the TV show, you truly needto stick your nose in the books! :D