We're here I swear, we've just had a really rough couple of weeks. Our youngest has a really weak immune system, so when the stomach flu reared it's ugly head at our casa, the baby was sick for a week. Couldn't keep anything down and was hospitalized for dehydration. *whaa whaa whaa* Man children's hospitals are great, but having a kid in one is so not. And then the best part! The day we finally got home, big brother is on the couch puking HIS brains out. Oi! The joys of parenthood. Though I lucked out with my awesome blood cells, I wasn't immune to the exhaustion. So I've been laying low the last week. Trying to get caught up on sleep and housework and reading. Thanks to Sophie Jordan for the fantastic gift of Vanish (Firelight #2) that was such a nice treat to come home too. I've also got to get a review up for Original Sin (Personal Demons #2) by Lisa Desrochers. I'll get to that shortly. I've had a blast rereading the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews in anticipation of book #5 Magic Slays. I'm counting down the minutes to Tuesday! I also started reading the Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning. I likey! So that's what's up been happening around here. Sorry for being absent, hope you can understand why. We'll be up and running again really soon. Thanks guys!

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Release Date: May 24th 2011

Copy Provided by: Book It Forward Tours

Synopsis:(Goodreads)
This page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick. But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality. Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.

Review: I loved it. I waited a bit too long to write this review, so I'm not still in the "moment" with it, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Silla is the once popular now reclusive teen still grieving the traumatic loss of her parents. Of course they happened to die in what looks like a murder-suicide, which only makes her the talk of her small town. When she receives a spell book in the mail, in her father's handwriting no less, things start to turn upside down.

Nick is the new kid in town and has moved across the cemetery with his father and father's new wife after he inherits his grandfather's house. Along with the house comes some bad memories of his mother and magic. Fast forward to Nick catching Silla working a little blood magic and we have the beginning of a lovely new relationship.

Silla's hell bent using her new found powers to find her parents killer, while Nick's along for the ride desperately trying to remember all those times his mother cut herself and why. Then a big bad comes into the picture and a race to save each other and the magic they have found within themselves begins.

I'm so excited to see where this series is going to go. I'm a HUGE fan of the Merry Sister's of Fate, (aka Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff) and have loved everything they have written so far, so I knew this book would rock. I wasn't dissapointed at all.

Defiance (Strange Angels #4) by Lili St. Crow

Release Date: April 19th 2011

Copy provided by: myself

Synopsis:(Goodreads)
The heart-stopping fourth novel in New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series.

Now that sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true and Sergej has kidnapped her best friend Graves, she'll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece.
That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day . . .

Review:
Dru does it again! She is, by far, my favorite YA heroine and she just can't seem to do anything wrong!

We left off with poor Graves being kidnapped and Dru being left in charge of the Order. While everyone's waiting for Dru to bloom, she's desperately trying to get a lead on where Graves is being held.

After a lot of this and that we finally get to the good stuff. ASH! Oh yea, someone's been looking out for the Silverhead and he and Dru manage to release him from Serje's hold. Which in turn lets him change back! Lets take a moment to relish in the hotness that is Ash...Okay, on to more important parts.

Once again, someone has betrayed Dru, and it's a doosie. Depending on what "team" you're on, I think you'll react differently to this. Since I'm Team Graves, (though really I'm Team Ash) I wasn't as surprised as other might be. Christophe, to me, is a pervert. I mean come on, he was in love with her mother! That makes him really, really old, and she's still 17. Gross. Anyway, after learning of this HUGE betrayal Dru does the one thing she can and runs off to rescue Graves.

After a huge battle to the death Dru and Graves are once again on the run. I cannot wait for the final book, Reckoning to release this Fall. I'm so excited and yet so sad to see such a wonderful series come to an end. It's been rough, but I'm so happy to have experienced this story and I just hope there's a somewhat happier ending in store for Dru. God knows she deserves it after all the hell she's endured. If you've been keeping up with Dru and the gang, then you'll be blown away with the latest installment. Go get it now, you won't be disappointed.