Infinite by Jodi Meadows (Incarnate book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the Newsoul trilogy, Incarnate and Asunder, Stop! I don't want to ruin the series for you.

"The Year of Souls began with a thunderous crash and rumble from deep within the earth."

Ana has been exiled from Heart by the ruling Council and Sam has chosen to join her. The next day, an earthquake strikes and it is followed by several hydrothermal eruptions. Sam has only seen two such eruptions in his various lifetimes and it was a long time ago. Before they can leave town, Mat, one of Deborl's friends, comes to Sam's house with the intent of killing Ana. He believes that she and all of the new souls are abominations and must be stopped. Ana is able to throw some bathroom cleaner into his face and they are able to flee the house. They go to Stef's house and send her a message to meet them at the library with the mothers of some of the newsouls. When more than forty people show up, Ana is surprised that so many would join their cause. Stef explains that the number if earthquakes and eruptions has been increasing. The caldera is unstable and will erupt soon. Ana surprises everyone by saying she knows it will happen on Soul Night. On the night of Templedark, Meuric told her that "something would happen on Soul Night that nothing would matter after it." Ana believes that he meant the eruption and that Janan will ascend. Ana tells them that Janan is real but he is not what they have been led to believe. She doesn't know how or why or what will happen but Janan will return on Soul Night and a cataclysmic event much worse than an earthquake or eruption will occur. There is no way to stop the caldera but they can stop Janan. Right now, all of the newsouls and their supporters are no longer safe in Heart. And the further away they can get from the caldera, the better their chances of survival.

The night of their escape doesn't go smoothly. They are unable to find the key at the Councilhouse. Sam, Ana and Stef go to meet the others at the vehicles that they will use for their escape. Before they can do anything, Deborl and some of his followers ambush them. A fight ensues inside the guardhouse. Deborl finds Ana and they fight. He shoots her in the arm but she knocks him to the ground. As he gets up, Ana sees that he has the key inside of his coat. With her gun trained on him, she is unable to bring herself to shoot him. Sam is able to retrieve the key during their fight. Deborl is able to slip away with his followers. Several of those going with Sam and Ana are injured, but no one is killed. The group is able to drive away from Heart.

Where do Ana and Sam's group go? What information or other people do they discovered? What happened in Heart five thousand years ago to cause all of the souls to be reincarnated? Does Sam survive this lifetime without being killed by a dragon? What are the sylphs? Can Ana and her friends stop Janan before it is too late? Why is Janan trying to ascend after all of this time? Will the citizens of Heart be convinced give up their chance to be reincarnated?

Visit Jodi Meadow’s website.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

"Her mission was to kill him. Her destiny was to love him."

Nyx Triskelion was raised to marry a monster. She had known her destiny since the age of nine. Her father, the Master Magnum of the Resurgandi, made a bargain with the Gentle Lord, who is the prince of demons, seventeen years earlier. Now that bargain is due. Nyx is to become his wife. The Resurgandi is an "organization of scholars that was officially founded to further Hermetic research". Nyx has longed to attend Lyceum, the great university where the Resurgandi was founded. But she and her twin sister, Astraia, learned the secret truth of the Resurgandi when they were nine. "The first Magister Magnum and his nine followers swore a secret oath to destroy the Gentle Lord and undo the Sundering. For the past two hundred years, all the Resurgandi had labored toward that end." (The Sundering occurred when the Gentle Lord killed the prince of Arcadia before he could be crowned king and took over rule. He only asked for tribute to keep his demons in check. He only offered his wish-granting abilities to those foolish enough to ask for them. He separated Acradia from the rest of the world.) Nyx only wanted to learn Hermatic principles at Lyceum. Through her father's bargain with the Gentle Lord, her fate was given to her. She is to kill the Gentle Lord and undo the Sundering.

After her proxy wedding before all of the villagers, her father rides with Nyx to the Gentle Lord's home, the tower that's the only part left of the crumbling castle of Arcadia. Nyx gives her father one last dig about his bargain with the Gentle Lord and not caring for her. She walks the rest of the way to the tower and finds that the door opens for her. She enters a space that surprises her. The house turns out to be deceptive much larger on the inside than out. In the circular room with all of the doors locked, Nyx announces to her new husband that she has arrived and falls against the wall and floor. She eventually falls asleep.

Nyx wakes up to find the Gentle Lord sleeping against her with his head on her shoulder. She is surprised by his handsome, youthful looks but his catlike eyes truly horrify her. She is surprised that he doesn't immediately want to be her husband in every way. He tells her that it is time to show her to her room. He raises his hand in a gesture and Nyx is startled to see his shadow become separate from his body. The Gentle Lord tells her that Shade will show her to her room. Shade drags her away and is unable to speak. He shows Nyx to her new room and leaves. She is unhappy and furious over her new life and ashamed that she destroyed her sister's perceptions of that new life.

Dinner goes as well as expected when Nyx tries to stab the Gentle Lord with her fork. He stops her and lets her know that maybe she deserves to be his wife. He tells her that she may call him Ignifex but it isn't his real name. Every night he will give her the opportunity to guess his real name. If she guesses right, Nyx will gain her freedom. If she guesses wrong, she dies. He also gives her a key that will unlock only the rooms that she will have access to. If she tries to enter any of the rooms she doesn’t have access to, she will regret it, but not for long. Not really wanting very much to eat, Nyx announces that she is going to bed. Ignifex asks if she wants to guess his name. Nyx declines. He kisses her knuckles and says that he will see her in the morning. She is surprised that he doesn't want to consummate their marriage. He tells her that he is her husband. "I can wait as long as I please and still have all of you."

Back in her room, Nyx is surprised when Shade comes to her. Not there because of Ignifex, Shade begins to take a corporeal form. He looks exactly like Ignifex but he has beautiful, blue human eyes. Still unable to talk, Nyx is able to deduce that Shade is a part of Ignifex. Shade is a prisoner of Ignifex, just as she is. Unable to fully trust him, she allows Shade take her down the hall and back into the ballroom. The floor has changed from earlier. It is now a pool of water that holds their weight. She realizes that he has shown her one of the hearts of Hermetic working. If she can find the other three, Nyx will be able to stop the Gentle Lord. Hopeful for the first time in her life, Nyx kisses Shade. He tells her to be careful. He is able to speak because she kissed him. Nyx realizes that Shade isn't a part of Ignifex, but someone else he has cursed. He warns her that he has betrayed Ignifex once and that she shouldn't trust him. Shade is unable to reveal any of Ignifex's secrets or to help her find the other three hearts. It will be safest for her to search at night. She is their only hope. Nyx promises to save him but asks him who he is. "Just a shadow" and he disappears.

Will Nyx be able to defeat the Gentle Lord and save Arcadia? What is his true name? Who is Shade? Why does Shade look like Ignifex? What happens when Nyx finds herself falling in love with Ignifex? Can Nyx ignore the duty she was raised to follow and kill the Gentle Lord?

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In this twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast, readers will be left hanging until the end to see how Nyx’s story ends.

Visit Rosamund Hodge’s website.

Cress by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Scarlet, Stop! I don't want to read a fantastic twist on some of the best loved fairy tales written.

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

For more than seven years, Cress has been trapped in a nightmare. She is imprisoned in a satellite that makes one orbit around Earth every sixteen hours. She loved to gaze at Earth and pretend she was on a mission to land on the planet. Cress avoided any views of Luna. As she passes by Luna today, Cress cannot tear her gaze away from her invisi-screens and the mass murders that gave occurred on Earth at the bidding of the Lunar Queen. Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth has agreed to marry Queen Levana to stop the attacks. Cress is sick to her stomach that she has done Mistress Sybil's bidding; she cloaked the ships carrying the attackers from Earth's detection. Only after the damage has been done has she realized what Queen Levana planned to do.

Cinder, Thorne, Scarlet, Wolf and Iko have just over fifteen days to stop the royal wedding between Kai and Levana. Their rough plan is to cause a distraction that will allow them to get into the palace. Once there, Cinder will announce to the world that she is really the loss Lunar Princess, Selene. From there, she really isn't sure if a cyborg can be accepted as Queen. Wolf has been training her but it seems she has a long way to go if she plans on fighting.

Queen Levana has asked that Cress locate Cinder's ship. Cress tells Sybil that she is looking but hasn't found it yet but she is lying. She is an expert hacker since is forced to live a solitary life with only her computers for company. Cress located the ship fairly quickly but has cloaked it from both Earth and Luna. She has a crush on Thorne and is waiting for Cinder to contact her again. When a D-COMM request link comes from Mechanic, Cress eagerly accepts knowing it is from Cinder. She is completely unnerved when Thorne shows up on the screen. Their first meeting doesn't go as Cress planned. Speaking with Cinder, Cress fills in them in on how she has cloaked their ship from both Luna and Earth. Cinder and her friends are shocked to learn that Cress resides on a satellite. They make plans to retrieve Cress from her satellite even though it may be a Lunar trap.

Cress is cleaning up to prepare herself for Cinder’s arrival. Just as she has finished her bath, she receives an incoming message that Mistress Sybil is about to dock. Cress realizes that Cinder's ship is about an hour away. Sybil has brought Cress some work. Levana wants her to program a new bug for Emperor Kai's office. Before she can get her off of the satellite, Sybil notices where Cress has the D-COMM with Cinder established. She immediately knows that Cress has been secretly helping Cinder. Sybil devises a plan to capture her.

Throne pilots the pod ship to Cress' satellite. He docks and is immediately captured along with Cress. Cinder has no idea what is happening aboard the satellite. When the pod ship comes back to the Rampion, Cinder is able to detect two life forms but Scarlet and Wolf are worried that it may be a trap. Cinder decides that she is the only one capable of even standing up to a Lunar and greets the ship alone. Unfortunately, it is a trick. Sybil has glamoured herself and her guard. In the insuring battle, Wolf comes to help Cinder but is shot. Sybil tries to escape with her guard while Cinder attempts to drag Wolf and Scarlet to safety. Cinder tells Iko to open the hatch to hopefully suck Sybil out of the airlock. Before she can, she sees that the guard's glamour is fading and that he is really Scarlet. She looks at her Scarlett and realizes that she has the guard. Sybil escapes with Scarlett.

Wolf is seriously wounded and Cinder is torn between helping him and rescuing Throne and Scarlet. The guard tells her that Sybil has an army close by and she will come after her. He helps her get Wolf stabilized. He can pilot the ship for her. Cinder must find a place to hide. They need to get help for Wolf. He tells her that she can do nothing for Scarlet. She is as good as dead. Sybil also changed the trajectory of the satellite to burn up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. Cinder asks him how she can trust him when he serves the Queen. The guard answers, "I serve my princess. No one else." Cinder is shocked that he knows who she is and realizes that he is telling the truth.

Who is Cress? Why was she banished to the satellite? Will she and Thorne make it to Earth? What happens to Scarlet? Who does Cinder find to help Wolf? Can his life be saved? Will the royal wedding take place? How did the guard know who Cinder was? Who help her in her mission to claim the Lunar throne?

The Lunar Chronicles will conclude in 2015 with the publication of Winter, a Snow White retelling. If the ending of Cress is any indication Winter is going to be a fantastic ending to the series.

Visit Marissa Meyer's website.

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton (Everneath book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the series, Everneath and Everbound, Stop! I don't want to ruin Nikki and Jack's story for you.

Nikki rescued Jack from the tunnels of Everneath with the Cole's help and Cole left Nikki with devastating news. While in the Everneath, Nikki needed to feed from Cole on three different occasions and he tricked her. She is in the process of changing into an Everliving. Cole took her heart and left with no clues. They are relieved that they are able to kiss without Nikki siphoning off Jack's energy. But Jack has also changed. He is now bigger and stronger than before he was dragged to the Tunnels. Nikki and Jack are determined to stop her transformation and have their happily ever after. But she is keeping a secret from Jack, Nikki is growing weak even though the next forfeit isn't for another ninety nine years.

When Cole finally shows up, the news for Nikki isn't good. Her body is in transition. She must feed from the person who holds her surface heart and that's Cole. She will need to feed from him nightly until she needs more. Nikki doesn't have ninety nine years until she needs to feed from a forfeit. She only has weeks if she doesn't die first. Her life is literally in Cole's hands. Jack is not happy and Cole is determined to make Nikki the Everneath Queen. The Dead Elvises are looking for more forfeits with emotional anchors to build their strength to become ready for battle against the current Queen. Nikki just wants to save other humans from the horror of the forfeit. She decides that she and Jack must destroy the Everneath.

Can Nikki become human again? Will she and Jack be able to trust Cole? Why is Jack now so much bigger and stronger? Will Cole take over control of the Everneath? Can the Everneath be destroyed? Why is Cole interested in Nikki? Will Nikki and Jack find their happily ever after?

Visit Brodi Ashton’s website.

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rosi (Under the Never Sky book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the trilogy, Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night, Stop! I don't want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

"The world needs them. They need each other."

Into the Still Blue begins immediately following the events in Brooke, an enovella. Aria has awoken to find that her arm is still there but she has suffered nerve damage from the gunshot she received in Reverie. Molly is catching her up on the events that have transpired while she was unconscious. (These took place in Brooke) Aria wants to see Perry immediately but Molly lets her know that he is outside. No one is allowed out of the cave right now because it isn't safe from the Aether storms. As Blood Lord of the Tides, Perry gets to break his own rules. Molly and Roar, who’s a little gruff toward Aria, take her to the portion of the cave where they are housing the forty two Dwellers she brought back from Reverie. They are sick like she had been when first leaving to pod and Perry ordered the thirty vaccinations on board the ship to be evenly divided. Looking for some of her friends, the first face she sees is Soren.

Perry and Gren are outside waiting to see who their visitors are and hoping its Roar and Twig along with a rescued Cinder. When the horses arrived, Roar lets Perry know that Sable and Hess have Cinder, who they believe is the key to the Still Blue. He wants to know what they are going to do about it. Tensions are high between Perry and Roar. The last time the two saw one another, Roar was with Aria and he jumped to the wrong conclusion. Perry also received word that his sister Liv was dead. Both are devastated by her loss. In the war room, the tension is thick between Perry and Roar. With Hess and Sable working together, they now have the three pieces needed to get to the Still Blue; the coordinates, the ships and Cinder, who is their way through the Aether barrier. With the Aether beginning to change color from blue to red, it may be only a matter of days before they are trapped in the cave for possibly years. Roar, Perry and Soren must learn to trust and work with one another in order to solve their problems and Aria is the common thread needed to hold the three together.

Can Cinder be rescued? Is he the key into getting into the Still Blue? Will Perry and Roar be able to repair their friendship? What happens when the Tides go to Sable and Hess' encampment to get what they need? Will Perry and Aria be able to find peace and lead what is left of the Tides' and Reverie into the Still Blue?

Visit Veronica Rossi’s website.