Book Review: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)

Name: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)
Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Number of Pages: 464 in Kindle
Published: October 21st, 2014
by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

“Every touch has its price
Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.
But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay… .”

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you would have known by now that I’m torn about this series from the very start. I have issues and whatnot, but still I’ve eagerly waited for Stone Cold Touch to come out. I’m excited to know if I would finally love the series (Not that I hate it in general).

Since White Hot Kiss ended on a depressing note, I started reading this in a hopeful mood. The writing is still in a semi-fast pace. There are parts that have slow down a bit, but I can’t say it’s dull. If you’ve noticed, the book is 400+ pages and I’m surprised that I was actually wanting more after staying up until one in the morning last night to finish it. Stone Cold Touch is more action-packed and oozing with sexiness compared with White Hot Kiss. More thrilling and amazing if I may say. So much FEELS.

Currently Reading│Teaser Tuesday : Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer Armentrout

Currently Reading #27

Name: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)
Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Number of Pages: 464 in Kindle
Published: October 21st, 2014
by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

“Every touch has its price
Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.
But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay… .”

Out of habit before reading a book, I’ve checked reviews and picked out one who loves it and the other who didn’t like it at least.

JLA did a great job keeping the reader in suspense throughout the whole book, and her writing style was superb as always. Her balance of humor and sadness, love and hate, fear and happiness… all great! A nice mix of both.
And I honestly love what she does with Zayne in this book. We see a lot more of Roth in the other book, so I was already in love with him. Now I’m in love with Zayne, too!
Book three is going to be interesting… I can already feel the tension about to arise. A lot of bad stuff is gonna go down! And hopefully nothing too heartbreaking happens. I have a bad feeling about that one though…
— J of The Romance Review

This next review is somehow torn..

My Week in a Wrapped #6

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Nothing share worthy this past week. It has been dull. I have been on a routine (my daily routine really) like wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home from work, read a couple of chapters (current read), check notifications on my blog (and/or social networking accounts), do little house chores/mommy duties, try to read again and then finally go to sleep. Geez. That sucks right? LOL. No Halloween parties for me since I (still) need to work during the holidays. I only wish that I could have Christmas and New Year off from work (fingers crossed). How have you been this past week? 😀

Last Week On The Blog

• My Week in a Wrapped #5
• Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!
• The Beauty of Books Tag!
• Last Hour for the SCT Journal Giveaway: Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer Armentrout
• Teaser Tuesday #16: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)
• Waiting on Wednesday #22: Anomaly (Schrodinger’s Consortium #1)
• Book Review: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)
• Book Beginning #4: Crown of Ice
• Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition

Book Review: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)

Name: The Iron Trial
Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Claire
Number of Pages: 304 in Hardcover
Published: September 9th 2014
by Scholastic Press
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural

“Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.
All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst – and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .”

Before reading this, I’ve heard a lot of discussions from fellow bloggers that this is somehow a rip-off of the Harry Potter series. I know it is so damaging to compare. Either with books, movies and the like so I’ve decided I won’t compare it in any way. The mere fact that this is from Black and Clare really convinced me that this is something I would love.

The book didn’t disappoint. The writing is good. An easy read really though there are things that so complicated when you think of it, but eventually getting the points the authors want the readers to enjoy. This is totally not inspired with Harry Potter. Don’t be deceive by the rundown or the book cover perhaps. The world is entirely and amazingly different. As well as the characters, but we’ll discuss that later. The world building is something I haven’t read about.

Teaser Tuesday #16

I’ve decided to join this ’cause I think it’s pretty fun and easy. Plus I really want to quote smart retorts, full blown bullying, words of wisdom, swoon worthy lines and the like without giving much to readers about the entire book. A quote or two won’t hurt I guess. So this is how you do it:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Randomly open a page.
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is for this week’s Teaser Tuesday:

The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)

by Cassandra Clare + Holly Black

“Could he really learn how to fly? If you could fly, whispered a small treacherous part of his brain, it wouldn’t matter so much that you can’t run.”

“It flew straight and true, farther than a dagger should be able to go. Cal couldn’t take his eyes off it as it whirled at him, blade first. He knew he should do something. He knew he had to get out of the way. But somehow he couldn’t. His feet felt rooted to the spot.”

What are your thoughts about my teasers? 🙂 Anyway, you could share some teasers on your current read too. Comment the link of your own Teaser Tuesday so I can check it out and have an idea of amazing books that I would want to read.

Teaser Tuesdays (TT) is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Last Hour for the SCT Journal Giveaway: Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer Armentrout

Here’s your last chance to win this:

Contest Rules:
International
Author is not responsible for lost or damaged prize package
Prizes cannot be swapped for any other prize

Click here for the Rafflecopter

You could also vote on which guy you want to see Layla end up with!

My Week in a Wrapped #5

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

It has been a busy week since I’m trying my best to juggle everything. Work, reading and a lot of other things. So much to do with so little time. Fortunately, I was able to fit them all. I was able to finished Winterspell, started and finished The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender for my October Random Reads and currently reading The Iron Trial. Work’s still a bit tough on schedule and really tiring, but I was able to accomplished a lot in all fairness. I’m so proud of myself. LOL! Anyway, the highlight of my week was that I got a day off from work for my son’s 12th birthday. Since it falls right after his actual birth date, I didn’t have much time to prepare for the celebration. We just had a nice and super fun dinner with the whole family. Here’s a photo of my birthday boy, Heaven Alessandre ♥

Isn’t he such a cutie? 😀 He’s growing up pretty fast. Refusing to hold hands with me in public now. Sniff. Next year, he’ll enter a new pace of his life, which is being teen and I’m really hoping that I could turn back those days that he’s still in his diapers. Oh wait! I’m being emotional now. It seems like I’m getting old too. LOL. How’s your week? 😀

Last Week On The Blog

• My Week in a Wrapped #4
• ARC Giveaway: Invaded (Alienated #2) by Melissa Landers
• Swag and Book Giveaways + Book Tours : A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
• Teaser Tuesday #15: Winterspell by Claire LeGrand
• Waiting on Wednesday: Atlantia by Ally Condie
• Book Review: Winterspell by Claire LeGrand
• Book Review: The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
• Book Beginning #3: The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare + Holly Black

Book Beginning #3: The Iron Trial

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader, where we share the first sentence (or so) of the books we are reading, along with initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Currently Reading #25

Name: The Iron Trial
Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Claire
Number of Pages: 304 in Hardcover
Published: September 9th 2014 by Scholastic Press
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural

“From a distance, the man struggling up the white face of the glacier might have looked like an ant crawling slowly up the side of a dinner plate.
The shantytown of La Rinconada was a collection of scattered specks far below him, the wind increasing as his elevation did, blowing powdery gusts of snow into his face and freezing the damp tendrils of his black hair. Despite his amber goggles, he winced at the brightness of the reflected sunset.”

Technically this is a post for Book Beginnings on Friday and also a post from my own Currently Reading Meme. I’ve just fused the two. Honestly, I’ve skipped a post for my Currently Reading so if you’ll check for posts on this meme, you’ll probably end up confused since the last time I’ve posted is #23. I forgot to post #24 which was The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. I’ll just update that page.

Waiting on Wednesday #20

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Breaking the Spine and serves to showcase those books that aren’t released yet, but that we’re eagerly awaiting!

Name: The Last Changeling
(Faerie Revolutions #1)
Author: Chelsea Pitcher
Number of Pages: 360 in Paperback
Published: November 8, 2014 by Flux
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery

“A Kingdom at War . . . Elora, the young princess of the Dark Faeries, plans to overthrow her tyrannical mother, the Dark Queen, and bring equality to faeriekind. All she has to do is convince her mother’s loathed enemy, the Bright Queen, to join her cause. But the Bright Queen demands an offering first: a human boy who is a “young leader of men.” A Dark Princess In Disguise . . . To steal a mortal, Elora must become a mortal—at least, by all appearances. And infiltrating a high school is surprisingly easy. When Elora meets Taylor, the seventeen-year-old who’s plotting to overthrow a ruthless bully, she thinks she’s found her offering . . . until she starts to fall in love.

My apologies, but I’m so guilty of judging the book by its cover. I’m so there. Look at it. So beautiful. I just stumbled upon it on Goodreads and suddenly forgot about the book I’m intending to feature today. LOL! I’ve decided to feature it by the mere sight of the cover and realized I need to read the rundown. So silly. Fortunately, I got intrigued by the summary too and YES. I can’t wait to have this. 😀

I’ve looked for giveaways and found that the ARC and Swag giveaway from Rafflecopter is over, but I’ve found this giveaway for you guys. Click on “Enter to Win” to join this. For US book lovers only.

Excerpt: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)

I remember having issues on the first book of this series, but still I’m eagerly waiting for the second book to come out. I even included this on a Waiting on Wednesday post back in July because I still have faith on the book. I’m looking for recent updates, since the released date is fast approaching, when I’ve stumbled upon this excerpt. Yipeeeee! 😀

Name: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)
Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Number of Pages: 446 in Kindle Edition
Published: October 21st 2014 by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Supernatural

He traced the delicate scales around Bambi’s nostrils, and when I shivered, his gaze lifted, snaring mine. There was so much heat and intensity in those cobald eyes that there was no mistaking how he was looking at me.
Like he had the night he’d seen me in my bra.
One side of his lips tipped up, and my heart jumped in my chest. His gaze returned to where Bambi rested, to where his finger was idly tracing her scales in smooth strokes. “It doesn’t feel like I thought it would. The skin is just slightly raised, but it’s really like a tattoo.”
Mouth dry, I closed my eyes as his finger moved over her head, nearing the tiny lace that decorated the hem of my tank top. I wasn’t wearing anything under the tank and he was so, so close.
“Does she like it?” he asked, breath warm in the space between our lips.
I nodded, assuming she did, because she wasn’t trying to kill him.
“Do you?”
The question whipped through me with the force of a destructive hurricane. My eyes snapped open and my breath came in short little pants. He was still so close, his hair tickling my cheeks and his finger trailing farther south, following the curve of Bambi, under the lace of my tank top.
His lashes swept up again and his gaze collided with mine. I had no idea how we’d ended up here. His hand stilled and he waited, and there was no denying the driving force behind the question. If I said no, he would move away. And if I said yes, then… I couldn’t even wrap my head around those possibilities.
If I said yes, everything would change—change in ways I couldn’t even fathom, ways I never truly believed could happen between us. My heart was beating too fast, and a strange kind of heat pooled deep in my body.