Review: Emerald Green

EMERALD GREEN
The Ruby Red Trilogy #3
Kerstin Gier
Young Adult/Time Travel
464 pages
Henry Holt and Co.
Available now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is.

She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

This stunning conclusion picks up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

MY THOUGHTS
Much like its predecessor, Emerald Green wastes very little time tossing us back into the middle of multiple time-travel timelines with almost no recap of previous events, but even though we’re foggy on specifics, it’s as easy as ever to get involved in this last leg of Gwen’s journey. While we certainly have questions about the past and present and how the various events of both relate to one another, we can’t help but find ourselves pushing them to the back of our minds and simply enjoying the humor that’s become a trademark of the series. Gwen’s sly quips combine with an absurdly hilarious gargoyle ghost/demon to keep us smiling through any haze of confusion that temporarily causes us to stumble, ensuring that the crazy train that is the Montrose family takes us for one unforgettable ride.

Gwen has been a joy throughout the series, constantly battling the Guardians' unrelenting incredulity that she’s the one who inherited the time travel gene over her cousin Charlotte, and continuing to endure their snide remarks and their secrecy with a grace we’re quite sure we wouldn’t be able to muster in her place. Though things with Gideon are still far from smooth sailing in this last book, Gwen is not the type of young woman prone to angst or overly emotional reactions, having only minor meltdowns that end in rants to her best friend (as is to be expected based on the situation), charming us with her disgust over her very temporary weepiness rather than frustrating us with an epic emotional unraveling. Minor relationship hiccup aside, Gwen is strong and determined in this final installment, attempting to decipher the numerous prophecies and their ominous predictions to figure out the purpose of all her and Gideon’s misadventures back in time.

Though there are tense moments between Gwen and Gideon in this book, their romance isn’t quite as deeply involving as it has been in the past (with one large exception), the extraordinary number of loose threads in need of tying off rightfully demanding the majority of the spotlight. We might not entirely understand every piece of the puzzle that's uncovered, but many of our questions are answered, additional pieces clicking into place the more we turn events over in our minds after finishing. Things are wrapped up nicely in the end, but there’s certainly room for more should Ms. Gier ever feel the need to follow up with Gwen and give us a look at her life after the dust from the final events settles, and I certainly wouldn’t mind if somewhere along the line these characters called out to her once again.

Rating: 4/5
 

Previous Reviews:

Ruby Red • Sapphire Blue

Find Kerstin

Goodreads • Amazon 

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Reclaimed Blog Tour: Guest Post With Sarah Guillory

Today I'm pleased to welcome young adult author Sarah Guillory to the blog as part of the promotional tour for her new contemporary release, Reclaimed. Sarah's going to talk a little bit about why she writes and about Reclaimed in particular, and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for the full list of tour stops for more guest posts, reviews, and interviews!

WHY I WRITE

Reclaimed is a story I am proud of. And while it is my best work right now, I hope it is not my best work ever. I want the next book, and the one after that, to be even better. I want to excel at my craft, and the only way to do that is to learn, listen, practice, and grow. I want to improve not just with each and every book, but with each and every day.

Reclaimed will hit shelves on October 15th. OCTOBER 15TH! And I really only have one hope for this book – I want it to speak to readers the way other books have spoken to me. I write because I love books. And I can’t even imagine how it might feel to have someone else connect to my book the way I have with so many others. It is why I faced my fears and put my work out there.

Sending Reclaimed out into the world is scary. It’s there for the world to pick apart. To interpret how they see fit. And while it will always be my book, once it’s out there, it will also belong to readers. There’s nothing more exhilarating or terrifying than that.

I write because I can’t NOT do it. Believe me, I’ve thought about it. Why in the world would I want to pour my soul into something that others might rip to shreds? Why would I want to put myself out there like that? The whole world will be able to see me fail, fall, fumble.

But writing is something I have to do. Even if I’m not writing, I’m thinking about it. I imagine scenes, stories, conversations, whole worlds. I take words and phrases and sentences and tumble them over in my head until they are polished and smooth.

Writing is stressful and takes up a lot of my time, time that I don’t really have. I’m a full-time teacher, which is more than a full-time job in and of itself. I run marathons. I have a husband, a dog, parents and a sister, nieces and nephews, friends. I would probably be much more relaxed if I didn’t write. I could read more, learn languages, cook, maybe even get my house back in order.

And I would probably be happy. But I wouldn’t be fulfilled. I wouldn’t be complete. I wouldn’t be the me I’m supposed to be.

Because I’m a writer. A storyteller. A lover of words.

I’ve been asked whether the stress and worry and hard work is worth it.

On October 15th, the dream I’ve had since I was a child will come true.

Believe me, it’s worth it.

• • • • • • • • • • 

SARAH GUILLORY

Sarah Guillory is a YA author. In addition, she teaches sophomore English and loves that they pay her to fan girl over books and authors and to watch her students fall in love with the written word. Sarah lives in Louisiana with her husband and ridiculously spoiled bloodhound. RECLAIMED is her debut novel.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Goodreads • Tumblr 

 • • • • • • • • • • 

RECLAIMED

Jenna Oliver doesn’t have time to get involved with one boy, let alone two.

All Jenna wants is to escape her evaporating small town and her alcoholic mother. She's determined she'll go to college and find a life that is wholly hers—one that isn't tainted by her family's past. But when the McAlister twins move to town and Jenna gets involved with both of them, she learns the life she planned may not be the one she gets.


Ian McAlister doesn't want to start over; he wants to remember.

Ian can’t recall a single thing from the last three months—and he seems to be losing more memories every day. His family knows the truth, but no one will tell him what really happened before he lost his memory. When he meets Jenna, Ian believes that he can be normal again because she makes not remembering something he can handle.

The secret Ian can’t remember is the one Luke McAlister can’t forget.

Luke has always lived in the shadow of his twin brother until Jenna stumbles into his life. She sees past who he’s supposed to be, and her kiss brings back the spark that life stole. Even though Luke feels like his brother deserves her more, Luke can’t resist Jenna—which is the trigger that makes Ian's memory return.

Jenna, Ian, & Luke are about to learn there are only so many secrets you can keep before the truth comes to reclaim you.

Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • 

BLOG TOUR

October 1 - Jenuine Cupcake

October 2 - WhoRuBlog 

October 3 - Queen Ella Bee 

October 4 - K-Books

October 5 - A Dream Within A Dream 

October 6 - Wastepaper Prose

October 7 - Supernatural Snark 

October 8 - A Book and a Latte

October 9 - Fiction Fare 

October 10 - Met In Eleven

October 11 - Book Savvy 

October 12 - Reading Lark 

October 13 - Portrait of a Book 

October 14 - Swoony Boys Podcast 

Things of Awesome: October Edition

Hey Everybody!

It's been a little while since I've done one of these posts, but I've had some fun bookish things come across my desk recently and wanted to share them with all of you. I apologize for the lack of "Life with Kevin" in this month's Things of Awesome, I've had some very amusing conversations with him lately but just haven't had time to write them down. I promise I will though, and then you'll all get to see once again how ridiculous my marriage can be sometimes (it of course has everything to do with Kevin and absolutely nothing to do with me. Obviously:) And now on to the bookish goodies!

1. COVER REVEAL: AUTUMN ROSE
(releases January 28th from William Morrow/HarperCollins)

I was intrigued by the first book in this paranormal new adult series by Abigail Gibbs, Dark Heroine, so I'm excited to see where things go now that we're following Autumn Rose rather than Kaspar and Violet.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Books-A-Million | iBookstore | Image Map

In book two of her breathtakingly magical series, Abigail Gibbs draws us even further into the dangerous and romantic world of the Dark Heroines.

Autumn Rose lives in a sleepy seaside town in the southwest of England, but buried deep under the surface of her quiet life are dark secrets. Her grandmother is dead, murdered eighteen months before, and the whirling social scene of London in which she was brought up is a world away. Even worse, at her new school she is shunned and condemned-all because of the swirling marks on her skin that prevent her from blending in the crowd.

But the appearance of a handsome young man at her school-who has the same curious markings as Autumn Rose-sends her world into turmoil. Suddenly the marks are cool and Autumn is thrust into the limelight, but her sudden popularity brings danger as her secrets threaten to come to light. Plus, there is the fact that Autumn keeps dreaming of a human girl who is about to be seduced by a very dark Prince… and Autumn must figure out how to save her before it is too late.

2. DARK DAYS TOUR

This Tuesday, October 8th, HarperTeen's Dark Days tour is stopping at Books & Co in Dayton, Ohio. Young adult authors Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy), Amelia Kahaney (The Brokenhearted), and Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) will all be present to answer questions and sign their books, so I hope if any of you are in the Dayton area you'll be able to come by and say hi! I'll be there in all my socially awkward glory and will be doing a full recap when I get back.

If you can't make the Dayton event, Dark Days is continuing on to Cincinnati on October 9th.

3. SWOON READS

I'm enormously excited about Swoon Reads (YAY ROMANCE!), a new community for YA lovers of all kinds that was recently launched by the amazing team behind Macmillan Children's Publishing. Given they'll be able to explain all the epicness that is this new endeavor better than I could, I'm just going to give it to you straight from their far more eloquent mouths:

Swoon Reads is a new YA romance community for writers and readers, but even more exciting is that it is a revolutionary new crowd sourced romance imprint that is dedicated to publishing books that capture the intensity and excitement of teen love.

So what does that mean?

Are you a writer and working on a YA romance novel? You can submit your manuscript to Swoon Reads. We accept from any genre: historical, adventure, paranormal, contemporary, etc.

As a reader, you can become intimately involved with the publishing process by reading, rating, and commenting on submissions. The manuscripts achieving the highest ratings by readers and the Swoon Reads editorial team will be published in both print and e-book formats. Some manuscripts have already been submitted and are generating great discussion!

Swoon Reads wants to give you the opportunity to see what goes on behind the publishing process and you get to decide what we publish!

Our motto is “Fall in Love with Falling in Love” and we hope you get a chance to explore the site, read some manuscripts, read the blog, and maybe even submit that YA romance manuscript that you’ve been working on ever so diligently.

Swoon Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest

4. ARE YOU ALLEGIANT?

It's almost time everyone. Allegiant releases on October 22nd from Katherine Tegen Books, and as a way to tide you over in this home stretch, be sure and check out all the fun promotional graphics now available. 

You can also refresh your memories on all that happened in Insurgent with Epic Reads who is hosting a re-read this week. Get all the details HERE (scroll down to "other things to know", they should update the link for the Insurgent read-a-thon once it starts on Monday).

5. SOURCEBOOKS + WATTPAD

From Sourcebooks:

• Sourcebooks will edit and produce select new Wattpad-branded editions of YA stores into print and e-book platforms.  All of these new books will live under Sourcebooks Fire, our YA imprint.
 

Two titles scheduled for release in Winter/Spring 2014: My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak, a contemporary romance that has garnered over 22 million reads on Wattpad; and The Cellar by Natasha Preston, a mystery-thriller that has been read over 6 million times.

• Sourcebooks will be a prize sponsor for Wattpad’s 2013 Watty Awards and we’ll be developing channels for top Wattpad writers to have their stories be distributed into traditional retail outlets both in print and digitally

• Sourcebooks writers including CJ Lyons, Miranda Kenneally, Janet Gurtler, and Zoraida Cordova, among others, will be making exciting new stories available for free and engaging with readers on Wattpad! (Dates to come on their Wattpad debuts!)

Read Pink: Support Breast Cancer Awareness

Today I'm excited to use this blog to promote an absolutely fantastic cause and bring your attention to a brilliant campaign put forth by the Penguin Group to help fight breast cancer. The Read Pink® initiative is now in its fourth year and going strong, so I'm going to let the team at Penguin explain to you what Read Pink® is all about!

READ PINK® IN SUPPORT OF BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink® in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October)!

This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in more than 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF). Penguin is thrilled to partner once again this year with BCRF, as 91 cents of every dollar spent by BCRF is directed towards breast cancer research and awareness programs.

The $25,000 donation that Penguin Group USA contributes, regardless of sales, provides vital funds to support the mission of BCRF.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Penguin Group (USA)’s Read Pink® editions, we are featuring a few participating authors and what Read Pink® means to them…

KAREN WHITE (2013 Read Pink® Spokesperson)

The Beach Tree

"To all of those who have fought the fight, or are in the middle of the battle, here’s a two-thumbs up for you. You are not alone. We are all in this together.”
 
ERIKA ROBUCK

Hemingway’s Girl

“As one whose life has felt the shadow of breast cancer through two friends’ illnesses this year, it is an honor to be included in Penguin’s READ PINK campaign. It is my greatest hope that this contribution may be a part of raising awareness and finding a cure.”
 
JODI THOMAS

Just Down the Road

“Breast Cancer is something all women fear. I’ve walked with two dear friends through the battlefield and both survived. We all must fight until the day comes when no one knows anyone who has had breast cancer.”
 
CARLY PHILLIPS

Perfect Fit

“So many of us have been touched by cancer, either personally, or through a family member or a friend's diagnosis. I'm honored to be part of the Read Pink! program. Purchasing a Pink book donates money to the The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Buy and Read Pink! and together we can do our part to eliminate this dreaded disease.”
 
CATHERINE ANDERSON

Lucky Penny

“Breast cancer is a killer that robbed me of one friend and threatened the life of another. One out of four women may get this dreaded disease. I am honored that this is my fourth title to be featured in the READ PINK campaign, and I am proud to be writing for a publishing house willing to engage, year after year, in the battle to save the lives of women.”
 
LUANN MCLANE

Pitch Perfect

“Shortly after my mother’s diagnosis with breast cancer, I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child, a risky pregnancy that wasn’t supposed to happen. I believe that during the treatments my mother drew strength from the determination to see her granddaughter born. That was twenty-two years ago and my mother still refers to Cara as ‘her gift’. Cara’s birthday is a lovely reminder that my mother is cancer free. I am thrilled to have Pitch Perfect as part of the Read Pink program. Any small part I can play in the fight against cancer is a huge honor for me.”
 
LIANE MORIARTY

What Alice Forgot

“The last three generations of my family have been affected by breast cancer. We, like so many other families, understand all too well the importance of research. So I feel very moved and privileged to be a part of such a wonderful initiative as Read Pink.”
 
ALYSON RICHMAN

The Lost Wife

"My own life changed dramatically when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just before the publication of "The Lost Wife" in 2011, so it is incredibly meaningful that the book is now helping to find a cure for other women who have been afflicted with breast cancer. Read Pink is helping to unite readers and authors for an extremely important cause. Please buy a book for a mother, a daughter, or a friend to show your support for this disease that takes too many lives. My children lost their grandmother to breast cancer, so I know I'll be buying the other books included in the program, to honor this woman we all loved.”
 
SARAH JIO

The Last Camellia

"Breast cancer is a villain more sinister than any shadowy figure in my stories. I know someone with an advanced case of the disease, a woman who is bravely fighting, but who has been given a short time to live. She will leave behind three children, a husband and a truly beautiful life. All I can says is that if there is hope to end this horrific disease, to bring this villain to justice, I want to be part of it. And I'm so very honored that The Last Camellia was chosen to be a part of Penguin's Read Pink campaign. Together, we can help write a new story for breast cancer and hopefully give more women the happy endings they deserve."

Full List of 2013 Participating Authors:

Karen White, The Beach Tree
Nora Roberts, Chasing Fire
Erika Robuck, Hemingway’s Girl
Jodi Thomas, Just Down the Road
Carly Phillips, Perfect Fit
JoAnn Ross, Sea Glass Winter
Karen Rose, Did You Miss Me?
Catherine Anderson, Lucky Penny
Kate Jacobs, The Friday Night Knitting Club
LuAnn McLane, Pitch Perfect
Liane Moriarty, What Alice Forgot
Alyson Richman, The Lost Wife
Sarah Jio, The Last Camellia
Penelope Lively, How It All Began

Mark your calendars and remember to join in the conversation with @BerkleyRomance and @PenguinGroupUSA on Twitter in October.  Make sure to use the hashtag #ReadPink!

For more information follow @BerkleyRomance and @PenguinGroupUSA, and visit www.us.penguingroup.com/readpink.

• • • • • • • • • •

READ PINK® BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Please support the blogs taking part in this special, Read Pink® Spotlight Tour!

October 1 – Guest post and entire Read Pink 2013 collection giveaway by spokesperson Karen White on Chick Lit Is Not Dead

"Spotlight" Blog Tour

September 23 - Bridger Bitches Book Blog; Wicked Little Pixie
September 24 - A Tasty Read Reviews; My Daily Romance
September 25 - The Allure of Books; Ticket to Anywhere
September 26 - Bookish Babe; Swoon Worthy Books
September 27 - A Southern Girl’s Bookshelf; Christine’s Blog (“She Book Blogs”)

September 30 - Sunshine & Mountains Book Reviews; Winding Stairs Book Blog
October 1 - Eye on Romance; Books, Books, and More Books
October 2 - Books-N-Kisses; Reviews By Tammy and Kim
October 3 - Urban Fantasy Investigations; The Book Cellar
October 4 - Supernatural Snark; Got Fiction? Books

October 7 - Theresa’s Reading Corner; Romantic Book Affairs
October 8 - Book Addicts Not So Anonymous; Live Read and Breathe
October 9 - Bitten By Love Reviews; Kindles & Wine
October 10 - The Book Bellas; Stuck in Books
October 11 - Thoughts in Progress; That’s What I’m Talking About

October 14 - Boekie’s Book Reviews; The Romance Studio
October 15 - Paranormal Book Club; Ruby’s Reads
October 16 - Stuck in YA Books; Caffeinated Book Reviewer
October 17 - Always YA at Heart; Fiction Vixen; The Reading Café
October 18 - Fiction Fare; My Book Addiction and More

October 21 - Adria’s Romance Reviews; Cocktails & Books
October 22 - Reality Bites! Let’s get Lost!; Literal Addiction
October 23 - G Reads Books!; Reading Between the Wines
October 24 - The Book Binge; SheReads.org
October 25 - The Irish Banana Reviews; Harlequin Junkie

October 28 - Readers Live A Thousand Lives; The Delighted Reader
October 29 - Reviewing Wonderland;
October 30 - Smexy Books; Hesperia Loves Books

Review: The Burning Sky

THE BURNING SKY
The Elemental Trilogy #1
Sherry Thomas
Young Adult/Fantasy
464 pages
Balzer + Bray
Available now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to avenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

MY THOUGHTS
The Burning Sky is a stunning fantasy, delighting us with the magic and the great mythological beasts that so define the genre while at the same time grounding us in the reality of a boys’ boarding school in 1880’s London, thus ensuring those of us who sometimes find ourselves overwhelmed by sweeping fantasy stories have no trouble finding our way in this tale. There’s not a great deal of backstory as to how the unrest in the Domain (over which Prince Titus rules, if in name only) and the rise of the Bane came to be, but it simply doesn’t matter in this first installment, so caught up are we in the richness of the world and its gorgeously layered characters.

Iolanthe is a gem of a heroine, her humanity and her status as an Elemental Mage combining to give us a young woman who both feels like a friend–full of strengths and insecurities–and someone with a destiny we can’t even fathom as power we’ll never experience thrums through every fiber of her being. She’s not the type of girl to gracefully accept the revelation that she’s to play a mighty role in the fight to break Bane’s grasp on the Realm, instead she understandably panics and doubts Titus’s faith in her, but she only does so for a brief period of time before throwing herself body and soul into a fight she never knew was hers. She has an untold amount of power, but she never seeks to flaunt it or lord it over others, instead she’s receptive to Titus’s teaching and gives everything she has to learning to wield it with enough skill to keep her and her prince alive.

Titus is as strong a character as Iolanthe, a man who beautifully plays the arrogant, exceedingly entitled ruler of the Domain in public yet is someone very different in private, his duality never failing to make our eyes widen in wonder when we see how expertly he masks his fear. And he is right to fear, for he faces not only a terrifying foe in the Inquisitor, but also his own impending death as is prophesied by his mother as well as the reality that he may lose Iolanthe if he can’t teach her what she needs to know quickly enough. Only we and Iolanthe ever know of the beads of sweat that trickle down his back and the rapid beat of his heart though, making our relationship with him feel intimately poignant.

While one might say there is romance in The Burning Sky, the word romance simply doesn’t do the relationship between Iolanthe and Titus justice. It’s more than affection or sexual tension, it’s genuine friendship, trust, and the shared knowledge that the two of them together stand between the complete fall of the Realm. There’s a certain gravity to their every interaction, even the lighthearted ones, that draws us in, witnesses to the beginning of something truly beautiful. One of the highlights of their relationship is the honesty between them, due in part to their desire to work together but also to an inescapable blood oath, but for all that they must speak the truth to one another, there are secrets in their silences; quiet moments where they tuck their feelings tight to their chests, not yet ready to be as vulnerable as their admission would make them.

Overall, The Burning Sky should not be missed, entertaining us every step of the way until we reach an end that is thankfully free of dreaded cliffhangers, but yet leaves us salivating for the next book just the same.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

Find Sherry:

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Endless

ENDLESS
The Violet Eden Chapters #4
Jessica Shirvington
Paranormal Young Adult
480 pages
Sourcebooks Fire
Available now
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
LOVE WILL KILL US ALL
 
Violet Eden thought she was getting things under control. Then all hell breaks loose-literally. In the war between angels and exiles, she's about to face the biggest baddie of all time. Except she's not nearly ready.
 
The dark exile Phoenix is still messing with her head-not to mention her heart. And her undeniable attraction to Lincoln has gotten downright dangerous. When Hell unleashes its worst, Violet must embrace every facet of her angel self to save the people she cares about and the world as she knows it. But death is not the worst thing she will face...

MY THOUGHTS
Endless is a story we enter into with heavy hearts, knowing this second-to-last installment will likely be a case of “it’s always darkest before the dawn” and thus bracing ourselves for the emotional onslaught. Ms. Shirvington does not disappoint on this front, delving deeper into the connections between Violet and those closest to her and poking at our hearts hard enough that we flinch in response, instinctively recoiling to protect ourselves from the bigger blows we know are likely to come. Though this story is certainly the darkest and most painful yet, Ms. Shirvington doesn’t leave us totally adrift in the turbulent swells of our feelings, often granting us extraordinarily beautiful moments right when we need them most to ensure we stay afloat with Violet as she takes on Lilith.

In the past, this series has been one of those where we would strongly benefit from a reread of the prior book before wading back into the world of the Grigori, but unlike in previous installments, Ms. Shirvington provides a brief but detailed recap of what’s happened thus far as Violet explains her world to her very human father. She not only reminds us of details we’d forgotten, but she also explains things in a way that brings new clarity to Violet and her story as a whole, leaving us with a greater understanding and appreciation for a series with which we’re already desperately in love.

Violet continues to prove herself a force to be reckoned with, growing in both power and fighting prowess and maturing in her decision-making, her communications with Lincoln and Griffin more open than they have been previously. Her relationship with Lincoln–one stunningly excruciating–reaches a more level playing field for majority of the book, the push-pull nature of their romance (it should be noted that the push/pull in this case is for extremely valid reasons and not simply a result of teenage whims and angst) finally finding a bit of a happy medium with the two of them accepting that though they can’t be together, they also won’t be with anyone else.

The happy medium of their relationship is one of those aforementioned fleeting moments of haunting beauty though, and in the final chapters of Endless Ms. Shirvington tests just how much a heart can take before shattering beyond repair, bringing tears to our eyes even as we smile with pride at what Violet has become. The most romantic, heartbreaking, and deeply moving installment yet, Endless should be moved to the top of everyone’s must read list.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Jessica:

Website • Blog • Embrace Website • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon

Don't forget to check out my interview with Jessica for more info on Endless!

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.