Lovely War by Julie Berry

“It's 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She's a shy and talented pianist; he's a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's immediate and deep--and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.” - taken from Goodreads.com

This was not my typical read/audio listen. I almost gave up on this story early on but soldiered on (pun intended). Lovely War is a complex tale taking place during the two World Wars between mortals and the Greek gods. Love, war, history, and mythology make up this tale of two couples who meet during World War I, as told by Aphrodite during World War II. Lots of historical facts are planted throughout the book as evidenced by the extensive notes at the end. Overall, I'm glad that I stuck with this book until the end.

Visit Julie Berry’s website.

 

The Eternity Key by Bree Despain (Into the Dark book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Shadow Prince, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the series for you.

Haden Lord, Prince of the Underrealm, is a Prince no more. Since he was chosen by the Oracle of Elysium to become a Champion, he obliterated any chance he might have had to become his father's heir. He chose Daphne Raines and love instead. It turns out that she was the Cypher, the only one who can find and retrieve the Key of Hades. It is Haden's responsibility to use the Key to keep the Court of the Underrealm from getting the Keres. Literally, all hell would break loose on Earth if the Keres were set free. Haden, Daphne and their friends have left the safe haven of Ellis Fields to return to Olympus Hills to search for the Key. Two weeks have passed and they haven't found the Key yet nor have the Skylords come after them. Haden will do whatever is necessary to keep Daphne safe because he has realized that he loves her.

Daphne still isn't willing to forgive her father Joe for seeking her soul to the Underrealm in order to become a rock star. Sarah, the Oracle, told Haden and Daphne that their destinies were irrevocably intertwined. She had kept the Compass meant for Daphne for centuries. It was stolen from her only minutes later and now she feels that without it, they will never find the Key. She is still willing to bet that the Key is hidden in the grove. Tobin agrees with her. Haden relents and goes along but Daphne wants to just find the key so that her life can go back to normal. But Haden wonders if her life will ever be normal again.

Tobin's mother is the mayor of Olympus Hills. His sister Abbie went into hiding in Ellis Fields as CeCe Caelum and was Daphne best friend before Joe came into Daphne's life. The mayor has been aiding in the kidnapping of Olympus Hills daughters and Abbie disappeared a second time after Joe's assistant Marta came to help Daphne move. The mayor traded her daughter so that she could start her wind energy company. He is helping Haden and Daphne uncover the secrets of Olympus Hills. Grounded by his mother for two weeks when they went to Ellis Fields, he had been secretly searching his mother's rules for any clues. Tobin finds an early map of the area that he thinks might provide some answers. Daphne ends up giving Tobin Abbie’s dairy that was sent to her with some of CeCe’s things from Ellis Fields. They hope that it will provided them with some clues.

Haden spends every night outside of Daphne's house in an attempt to protect her from anything that may harm her. One night, Dax finds him and tried to persuade him to get some rest. He isn't going to be able to help anyone if he is sleep deprived. A flash of lightning streaks the sky and Haden thinks he sees a person standing on the shore of the lake. Dax doesn't see anyone. Haden runs through the rain to look. He sees footprints in the sand but the waves wash them away before Dax can see them. Haden is determined to keep Daphne safe at all costs.

On the first day back to class after break, Haden and Daphne are to see that their regular Humanities teacher has been replaced. Haden immediately knows that Ethan Bowman and his “niece” Terresa and “nephew” Calix are Skylords. Daphne is warned of the danger by a text message from Dax immediately followed by several from Haden telling her to act as if she doesn’t know him. After class, Daphne leaves the room with Lexie and heads towards Dax’s office. Calix follows the girls. Haden is asked by Ethan to stay after class and he dismisses Terresa, who clearly isn’t happy to be included. Alone with Ethan, Haden tells him that he knows who he is and that he no longer has an allegiance to the Underrealm. Haden refuses to give up the Cypher but Ethan tells him that he already knows who she is. Ethan wants to make a deal, a favor for the future. Haden says that he didn’t give the Cypher or the Key to his father, so don’t expect that. Ethan sounds imposed upon but wants Haden to agree to a favor later on or he can die now and lose the Cypher. Haden reluctantly agrees to Ethan’s request. The right time will depend on Haden and his friends. Until then, Haden is to tell no one of their dea; and to stay as far away as possible from Calix and Terresa. Terresa can be quite ambitious.

Will Daphne realize her true feelings for Haden before it is too late? What secrets is Tobin’s mother keeping about Olympus Hills? How will Daphne get the Compass back? Where will the Key be found? Who did Haden see on the shores of the lake that night? Why have they come to Olympus Hills? Can anything important be found in Abbie’s dairy? Why did she disappear? Will Haden and Daphne to able to keep an all out war from breaking out?

Book three will be published in the fall of 2016.

Visit Bree Despain’s website.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the trilogy, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight, Stop! I don’t want to ruin this series for you.

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse.”

The ninth day of August marked the Arrival of one thousand angels on Earth. Time would forever be marked as “before” and “after”. Communication links around the world failed as news of the arrival went viral. In Morocco, Zuzana and Mik saw the news footage and raced back to the Kasbah to warn Karou. The rest of the world freaked out over what the arrival of angels would mean.

Jael’s ruthless Dominion is on Earth to get weapons of mass destruction to take back to Eretz. Deception is Karou’s only hope to lead the chimera army. Ziri has been resurrected into the White Wolf’s body and is on board with her plans. The chimeras are not pleased that Thiago is keeping Akiva and his sister Liraz safe on Earth. But the trouble on Earth isn’t as bad as the trouble that is brewing in Eretz. With stormhunters gathering and the sky changing to the color of a bruise, something isn’t right.

Knowing that they must get their sides to work together to fight Jael, Karou still hasn’t forgiven Akiva for killing the only family she had ever known. With an undeniable attraction still brewing between them, can the dreams of peace between an angel and a devil come true?

Do the bastard brethren of angels led by Akiva join forces with the chimera army? Can Thiago/Ziri keep his true identity a secret? What is happening in Eretz? Will Jael and the Dominion be defeated? Why are the stormhunters gathering? Can Karou and Akiva find their way back to each other?

Visit Laini Taylor's website.

Night of Cake and Puppets – book 2.5 

An enovella about how Zuzana and Mik worked up the nerve to finally talk to one another. A sweet night in Prague.

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain (Into the Dark book 1)

Based on the Persephone myth with the story of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice's escape from the Underworld thrown in.

Lord Haden did the unforgiveable the day his mother died and he has been relentlessly punished ever since. When he is chosen by the Oracle as the only champion, the Court of Heirs is outraged. King Ren Hades voices his outrage that Haden and not Rowan, Haden's twin and his favorite son, was chosen. The Oracle tells King Ren that they both know why it must be Haden. He is the only one who can complete the quest that has been eighteen years in the making. King Ren relents rather than anger the Fates. He makes the ceremonial vow and carves something in Haden's arm. The Oracle faces Haden. She touches between his eyes and instead of taking a memory from him like she did in the choosing ceremony, she gives him a memory. At first, it is the story of Hades and Persephone that he was raised on but then changes to something new, he sees a girl and the Oracle tells him that the Cypher has been found. She is the one who can restore what was taken from the Underlords. Haden is the Champion fate has chosen to return her to the Underrealm. He will have six months to convince her to return of her own accord. King Ren will allow Haden to call him father, have his honor restored and be named his heir if he succeeds. If he fails and the gate between the Underrealm and the mortal world opens, he will lose much more. King Ren orders everyone to leave. The blessings and feast for the champions will not occur. Haden is also told to leave. Still dazed by the ceremony, he finds that he is filled with a mixture of grief, pride and relief. He looks at his arm to see what King Ren carved there. It is the name of the girl he must find order to restore everything that has been taken from him, Daphne Raines.

Before leaving for his quest, Rowan taunts Haden until he snaps. He is punishing a Lesser, which Haden recognizes as their half-brother, Garrick. Garrick was with Haden when his mother was dying and was sent to retrieve their father. Something happened and now Garrick is now punished by working in the Keres mines and Haden is disgraced by his father. The stronger of the two brothers, Haden quickly gains the upper hand while Rowan's followers watch. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he strikes a bolt of lightning just next to his head. Unfortunately, his has just played into his brother's plans. He goes off alone to think before leaving and his friend Dax finds him. Disgraced from having failed his own quest, he tells Haden that his father has given him permission to join him in the Overrealm. Everyone lines up to see them off but no honor is bestowed on him as it has been in the past. Haden and Dax head towards Persephone's Gate. Now only open for 24 hours twice a year, it is the only entrance and exit that a living soul can pass through into the Underrealm. It is also the time reserved for the Champions to enter and exit the Overrealm. The key to the gate was lost when the Sky God killed the original Hades when war broke out amongst the gods. With his father missing from the ceremony, Haden asks his teacher if he can have an entrouage. Yes and Haden asks for his brother. Rowan steps forward but Haden clarifies by saying his half-brother, Garrick. Transported through the gate, they arrive in the Overrealm at sunrise. A voice greets them by saying, "Welcome to Olympus Hills."

Haden and his entourage have been greeted by a man named Simon Fitzgerald, their "guide" in the Overrealm. He leads them to a spectacular house and is surprised to see Dax back after his failed quest. Haden quickly grows tired of Simon but Dax tells him not to make him angry. He is needed. Simon shows Haden his room and makes him promise to stay there until he and Dax have worked out all of the necessary arrangements. He locks the door behind him. Later, Haden thinks he hears Simon and Dax leave the house. He soon grows impatient and feels like time is rushing past. Haden decides if he can make it back to the gate and it's still open, less than twenty four hours will have passed. He finds he window unlocked and climbs out. Haden heads back to Persephone's Gate.

Daphne Raines made a deal with her mother ever to leave her small hometown of Ellis Fields. In her almost seventeen years, she has only ventured outside of the town once. Tonight, she wants to sneak away to go to the All-Teen Talent Competition at Southern Utah University. The promise came at the age of thirteen when Daphne crashed her bike on the outskirts of town trying to leave. A broken arm, a weekend in the hospital and lots of painkillers, stuck the deal until she got her driver’s license. On the cusp of turning seventeen and no license, she is beginning to believe that she has been duped. "Uncle" Jonathan found her flyer and confronts her when she lies about wanting to go to the dance. The second place prize money would replace the cooler her mom needs for the flower shop. Jonathan says if she got first place, which is very possible considering how well she can sing, she would move on in the competition and her mother will kill them both. Besides the money, colleges and talent scouts will be in attendance and Daphne sees college as a way out of Ellis. He lets her know that her mother just wants to protect her. They hear the front door slam open and before Daphne can see if it is her friend Indie, Indie comes bursting through the back door. She drags Daphne to the front, telling her she won’t believe who is there. A Hummer limo is parked illegally in front of the store and a man and woman are standing in front of the flower cooler. She is surprised that he is dressed in leather while in the middle of the desert. When her turns around, Indie is ecstatic but everyone else goes silent. Daphne asks her father why he is there. He lets her know that a judge in California has granted him custody and she will be living with him.

Daphne's father is taking her back to the exclusive Olympus Hills community that he has just purchased a house in so that she can attend their prestigious high school and music program. Knowing that by agreeing to go with him, she is breaking her mother's heart, but it is her only escape from Ellis. Being with her father ensures that she will have money to go to college and peruse her musical dream. What Daphne is unprepared for is that she will have to audition to gain admittance to the program, in the morning. She is worried because she doesn't have three songs prepared, only the one for the talent competition. Waking Joe up the next afternoon for his scheduled interview, she doesn't stay to help him clean up since he hasn't said two words to her since they left Ellis. Having picked two more songs for her audition, she tells him that she is heading out to the grove they passed the night before for some quiet practice time. Joe begs for some time with her and offers to buy her a new amp for her audition. She relents, knowing that she could use one. Joe goes upstairs to get his credit card. When he doesn't come back or answers her, Daphne is disappointed. She straps her guitar to her bike and heads towards the grove.

In the grove, Daphne hears the music of nature and is drawn to it. She hears music in everything; people, nature. It is how she has chosen her friends based on the melodies of their voices. Deciding on her third song, she begins playing. Eventually she adds her voice and her song reverberates with the sounds from nature. When she stops, she hears a very real gasp. Asking who is there, no one answers but she knows that she is not alone. Thinking it might be paparazzi, she calls them out. A strange voice finally answers asking about her voice; what was she doing? Does he mean her singing? A refined looking boy steps out, towering over a tall Daphne, but she realizes that he acts a bit wild and untamed. Fascinated but leery of him, she notices that he has no melodies coming off of him like other people and he radiates warmth. He sees her necklace, a name pendant that was a gift, and asks if she is Daphne Raines. If he can get her to willingly return to the Underrealm with him, it would surely bring him glory to return less than a day later. She realizes that he doesn't have a camera but is shocked when he asks her to go with him. She calls him a perv, punches him and flees.

Why does King Ren seem to despise Haden so much? What happened when his mother died? Will he regain his father's respect? Can the key to Persephone's Gate be found? Why does Haden need Daphne to willingly return with him to the Underrealm? What is the real reason Daphne's father came to get her? Will she succeed at Olympus Hills High in their music program? Why can she hear music from people and things? What happens when Haden realizes that he is falling in love with Daphne?

Told in alternating chapters from both Haden and Daphne's points of view, readers will be clamoring for the next book in the trilogy. Hilarious with major surprises and twists at the end, I think this trilogy is going to be even better than Ms. Despain's Dark Divine!

Visit Bree Despain’s website.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, book 1 and 2 by Laini Taylor

Book One - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”

Karou, with her peacock blue hair, is a student at the Art Lyceum of Bohemia in Prague. Her life is a mystery to those who know her as she expertly evades questions and keeps her secrets close. Karou’s hair really does grow blue her sketchbooks have quite the following around school for the stories they portray. Brimstone, a chimera with curling ram’s horns, is the star of her sketches and deals in wishes. He is not a figment of her crazy imagination but a part of her life. Although no one would actually believe her if she told the truth.

An actual monster, Brimstone has raised Karou since she was a baby. If by chance a human would have laid eyes on Brimstone or any of his minions, they would think they were seeing devils. An actual dealer of wishes, Karou runs errands for him. In the beginning, she was an innocent. Now jaded, Karou is ashamed about bringing Brimstone his treasures, teeth. Deep down, Karou knows something about her is missing, but has no idea what.

On an errand in Paris, Karou notices a perfect handprint burned into the door of a shed that doubles as an entry to Brimstone’s network of portals. Within days, more handprints appear on doors around the world. Left by beautiful men and women, all who saw them said they disappeared upward in a wave of heat with feathers falling behind. As soon as the feathers touch the ground, they turn into ash. People begin to believe that angels have visited Earth.

When Brimstone sends Karou on an unexpected errand, she runs into trouble. The grave robber, from whom she has just purchased teeth from, asks her an enormous favor. Pull all of her own teeth to earn a wish powerful enough to remove the heavy, hideous creature of knowledge that hangs from his back. Disgusted, Karou backs away but not before the invisible creature licks her skin. It immediately becomes visible and the crowd surrounding them panics. It calls to a beautiful boy, Akiva, in the crowd. The creature refers to him as an angel, his brother come to take him home. The crowd is running from the scene. Akiva notices Karou and she is calm, staring back at him.

Mesmerized by his beauty, the fight or flight instinct finally sparks in Karou. When the grave robber screams angel at Akiva, he tells her to run and warn Brimstone that the angels are back on Earth. She runs but soon feels Akiva behind her. Reaching the portal back to Brimstone, Karou turns only to be struck by Akiva’s sword. With the portal not opening immediately, the two fight one another. Staring each other down, Karou catches a glimpse of Akiva’s soul when he hesitates. On impulse, she throws up her hands, palms out. (An eye is tattooed on each palm.) Akiva is thrown back. Karou makes it to the portal only to find a handprint seared into the door. Akiva comes towards her but stops to really study her. He asks “Who are you?” Suddenly, the portal opens and Karou disappears through it leaving 

Who or what is Karou? How come she really doesn’t know where she came from? Who is Brimstone? What does he do with the teeth Karou brings him? Is Akiva really an angel and why did he let Karou go? What will happen when Karou and Akiva meet again?

The audiobook version read by Khristine Hvam is incredible to listen to. Listeners/readers will feel like they are in Prague alongside Karou.

Days of Blood and Starlight – book two

SPOILER ALERT! Don’t read any further if you haven’t read Daughter of Smoke and Bone in its entirety. 

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them. And its snap split the world in two.”

 Now that Karou knows the truth of her existence, Akiva’s recent actions have driven them apart. With no sign of her anywhere, Akiva is devastated and attempts to make amends with his siblings. Zuzana refuses to give up hope that Karou is still alive. When the seraphim believe that they can finally defeat the chimera, they are truly unprepared for what they run into. When it is reported that teeth are being stolen by an unidentified girl from museums around the world, Zuzana knows that Karou is still alive.

Why is Karou stealing teeth from museums? Is the war between the seraphim and chimera at a stalemate or does one side really have the upper hand? Can Akiva make up for his past transgressions to Karou? And can two tortured souls find forgiveness and their way back to one another?

The thrilling conclusion to the trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, is due out in 2014. I think the titles of this trilogy really portray what each book is about.

Visit Laini Taylor’s website.