Transitive Verve

Disclaimers: while my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. This book was provided to me for free by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts at a glance: **** (I really liked it) Summary : (as provided by the publisher ) Flint Hopkins finds the perfect tenant to rent the space above his Minneapolis-based law office. All the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted on Ellen’s application. Her references are good. And she’s easy on the eyes. Until … Flint discovers Ellen Rodgers, Board-Certified Music Therapist, plays music. Bongos, guitars, singing—not Beethoven administered through noise-cancelling headphones. The cut-throat attorney serves up an eviction notice to the bubbly, constantly humming redhead who's too sexy for her own good. But luck is on Ellen’s side when Flint’s autistic son, Harrison, takes an instant liking to h...

Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) Summary: 50 years ago, Earth received a transmission from space, from a group of beings who called themselves the Undying. In their heavily coded message, they not only gave warnings about their civilization destroying itself, but they also gave enticing clues for how to find what they left behind on their home planet Gaia. Now, Earth is dying, and everyone believes that the secret to saving Earth is somewhere on Gaia, after an initial exploration discovered tech that is helping to offset the effects of climate change that have been wreaking havoc on the environment. And with the coordinates of Gaia revealed, EVERYONE is trying to make their way--legally or illegally--to this new planet to try and find what they can. Enter Mia, a scrappy street scavenger who smuggles herself over to Gaia because she desperately needs to find some spoils that she could sell for money. Enter also Jules, an archaeology genius with a burning need for ju...

Thoughts at a glance: **** (I loved it) Summary: This is book 3 of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, so this will contain spoilers for the first two books. Here are my reviews for book 1 and book 2 . For the final act of this story, the major battle ends up being not between the seraphim and the chimaera, but all of them against the Dominion, the brutal force captained by the newly crowned emperor, Jael. And Jael's major plans involve showing up in the human world and returning to Eretz with weapons of mass destruction. Finally united in a tenuous alliance, Akiva and Karou must find a way to convince the remaining seraphim and chimaera to set aside their differences long enough to stop this even greater threat to their existence, as well as anyone else who stands in their way.

Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) Summary: This is book 2 of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone  trilogy, so this will contain spoilers for the first book. To read my review of book 1, please go here . Karou has finally discovered who she is, but at great cost--the lives of her friends and family. As the surviving chimaera are being viciously hunted down by the seraphim, Karou finds herself in the unfortunate position of having to ally with the vengeance-fueled chimaera leader who had her executed in her previous life. Meanwhile, Akiva strives to find a way to continue to rebel against the seraphim leaders' orders, to try to atone in some way for the pain he has caused Karou. But stirring up a rebellion is a dangerous thing, and what seemed like a simple plan ends up turning into something bigger and far more dangerous to more than just seraphim and chimaera.

Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) Summary:  To her art school classmates, and everyone else in Prague, Karou is a mystery. Does her hair really  grow out of her head blue? Where does she get the inspiration for the fantastical monsters and stories that fill her famous sketchbooks? And where does she keep disappearing to for her mysterious "errands"? Karou is even a mystery to herself--she's not sure where she came from or how her life came to be what it is, but yes, her monsters aren't just real; they're her family. Her hair grows blue because wish magic is true. And the errands she runs are for Brimstone, who is famous in the chimaera underworld for trafficking teeth that he uses for... some magical purpose that Karou doesn't understand. And now, black handprints are showing up on every magical portal door that leads to Brimstone's shop, and seraphim are rumored to be the ones behind it. Karou finds herself caught in the midst of an an...

Thoughts at a glance: *** (I liked it) Summary:  Lily Abbott couldn't care less about chemistry class, and tends to spend that time brainstorming lyrics to songs that she'll never finish. But one day after she scribbles some lyrics to an obscure song she loves on her desk, she is surprised to find a response from a fellow student who sits in her same desk. Lily and the mystery guy end up becoming chem class pen pals, sharing not just band recommendations but also deeply personal thoughts. Through him, Lily finds inspiration for a song for an upcoming contest and also possibly... love? But she has no idea who he is. In the meantime, her best friend's ex (and overall popular jerk), Cade, keeps showing up in her life, unexpectedly and unwelcome. Lily can't stand the sight of him and verbally spars with him every chance she gets, but the more she gets to know him, the more there seems to be below the surface. At any rate, she's got a song she needs to write, a...