Review: Summerfall by Claire Legrand

Title: Summerfall
Author: Claire Legrand
Series: Winterspell #0.5
Publication: August 26th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult ~ Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 5/5

In this captivating novella, prequel to the upcoming Winterspell, Claire Legrand weaves a story of magic, political intrigue, and forbidden love.

Rinka is a faery, passionate and powerful, determined to maintain the tenuous peace between faeries and humans.

Alban Somerhart is a human, a reluctant king trapped in an arranged marriage, desperate to prevent war.

Their love could save the kingdom of Cane—or shatter it forever.

This entrancing tale sets the stage for the rise of a wicked queen, and the journey of a lifetime for a human girl named Clara...

Faeries, the stories said, must always keep moving, must always keep changing, just like the southern seas and their high, hot winds.

Okay... wow! Summerfall blew me away! I think I even liked it a bit more than Winterspell, which is saying a lot because that book is one of my top favorites. Not only did I adore Claire Legrand's amazingly gorgeous writing, she totally sucked me once again into the kingdom of Cane's world of intrigue at court, enthralling magic and power, the forbidden but passionate whirlwind romance of Rinka and Alban and it was all just so very intriguing and captivating and very tragic to read. 

This novella sets the perfect setting for Winterspell. If you haven't read the book yet then I would absolutely recommend you to read Summerfall first to get a feel of the world and read about how Anise came into the world. In my case, I don't think it would've mattered if I had read this novella first because I've always felt somewhat... let's say... considerate to Anise and all the things she did. I even understand her more now. And maybe it was just me but I could kind of sense some small comparisons between today's world and this fantasy one because the humans and faeries were pretty distrustful of each other which only resulted in a lot of treachery, political as well as personal. Ah, the intrigue!

It was sad for Rinka but she came to court after leading a pretty sheltered life with so many hopes and dreams about humans and faeries being one front and not to be so weary about one another, thinking they would be so amazing. She was a bit naive in that, but I did love her enthusiasm in her beliefs. And of course there was no denying her attraction to Alban. Even though he's married and I knew only bad things would come of it, I was still shipping the hell out of them. Their chemistry was so intense! Yes, I was a fan of their love and rooted for them through the end. I'm a sucker for forbidden love.

Like I mentioned before Summerfall is tragic, and it truly is. I knew it wasn't going to end well but I still wasn't really prepared for the sadness I felt. However, this doesn't take away any of the brilliance that I thought this story had. I truly love stories about faeries, though there aren't that many good ones, in my opnion. So this is one is obviously ahead of that list. Really, the world of Cane is just so alluring and fabulous to me... I want, no I need, more!

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Claire Legrand is the author of books for children and teens, including The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, The Year of Shadows, the upcoming Winterspell, and its prequel, Summerfall. She is also one of the four authors of The Cabinet of Curiosities.

When not writing books, she can be found obsessing over DVD commentaries, going on long walks (or trying to go on long runs), and speaking with a poor English accent to random passersby. She thinks musicians and librarians are the loveliest of folks (having been each of those herself) and, while she loves living in central New Jersey, she dearly misses her big, brash, beautiful home state of Texas.

Her work is represented by Diana Fox of Fox Literary, LLC.

Stacking The Shelves: 22/11/'14

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted @ Tynga's Reviews, to showcase the books we received.

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Short and sweet this week!

Bought:
Summerfall by Claire Legrand
Summerfall, prequel to Winterspell, also known as: the best effing thing I have read lately! Review to come soon!

Bought:
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Found it on sale on Amazon for only $2.99 so of course I grabbed it! Currently reading it!

For Review:

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
IT'S MINE!
I'm sooo freaking excited to dig into it. Next on my reading list!

What books did you all receive?

Leave me links to your hauls so I can stop by!

Blog Tour: Review: First Debt by Pepper Winters + Giveaway! (INT)

Title: First Debt
Author Pepper Winters
Series: Indebted #2
Publication: November 12th 2014
Genre: Dark Romance/Erotica
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
Rating: 5/5

“You say I’ll never own you. If I win—you willingly give me that right. You sign not only the debt agreement, but another—one that makes me your master until your last breath is taken. You do that, and I’ll give you this.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Stolen, taken, and bound not by monsters but by an agreement written over six hundred years ago, she has no way out.

She belongs to Jethro as much as she denies it.

Jethro Hawk’s patience is running out. His inheritance gift tests, challenges, and surprises him—and not in good ways. He hasn’t leashed her but he thinks he might’ve found a way to bind her forever.

Debts are mounting. Payment waiting.

I'm going to start with saying that Pepper Winters is one amazing author. And if you haven't read her books yet, then you're missing out on some outstanding stories. Her books never, and I mean NEVER disappoint. She always manages to surprise me with the way they go and First Debt was not an exception. 

The first book, Debt Inheritance, ended in a pretty frustrating cliffhanger with Jethro telling Nila to run. I was much going insane with wondering where and how the story would continue. And oh, I loved how it did. The story starts pretty much where things ended so I could get right into it. The whole book gave me a whirlwind of emotions. I hated Jethro him in one moment but loved him in the next. I root for him and Nila, though and I love how they fight for control over each other so hard. It's really a power struggle between them. You just never know who wins. Meanwhile they fight their growing feelings for each other until they reach their breaking point. 

Also, the first debt is finally happening and it was horrible and yet everyone says it's the easiest of them all. If that one was easy, then I wonder what the next debts are going to be. I can only fear for Nila, knowing this. The end was pretty intense because we finally find out who Kite is. One the one hand I wasn't too surprised by this revelation but on the other hand I was betting on someone else. I'm not sure how this will affect the story but I'm so very curious to see what will happen next!

I just know there's a whole lot more to be revealed. Jethro is still surrounded by a lot of mystery and I'm looking forward to finding out more about him, his family and everything in between. 

Overall, Pepper Winters dazzled me once again with her incredible writing. First Debt, was a fantastic sequel to Debt Inheritance where everything got kicked up a notch more. I was surprised by some turn of events that took place and how I was still so completely fascinated by the whole story, characters and not to mention the fact that I literally couldn't stop reading until I had finished it — It was that good!

Excerpt:
A small gasp fell from my lips as his fingers kissed the paper-thin skin. His eyes held me hostage. The golden brown was now a swirling bronze, raging with the same demanding hunger I knew reflected in mine.
“This sort of reminds me of the forest,” I whispered. “The trees around us—no one else.” My words fell like petals, waiting for Jethro to crush them beneath his glossy shoe.
But…he didn’t.
Tracing one hand from my wrist, along the inside of my arm, and right to my throat, he fisted my ponytail. With intensity that stripped my soul to the very essence of who I was, he pulled my head back slowly, sensually, full of sexual power
His eyes dropped to my mouth. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Ms. Weaver.”
I panted, my neck straining against his hold, but I made no move to break the poignant awareness.
“You won that night, but I lied when I said it pissed me off.” His mouth dropped, his tongue licked my bottom lip with the barest of grazes.

About the Author:

Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex. She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

Signed Swag Packs (2 winners)

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