Review: Forbidden Fate by Mary Catherine Gebhard

Review: Forbidden Fate by Mary Catherine Gebhard
Synopsis: 
I only had one rule: don’t fall in love with the cruel prince.
I broke it.
When the clock struck twelve, I went back to being a servant. He promised to let me go with my heart in pieces...but Grayson Crowne always was king at breaking promises.
I refuse to let him lock me in a tower.
I have no choice but to take the only out offered me—another cruel prince.
Refuge in a man I loathe.
Rescued from the man I love.
I wanted to forget Grayson, forget Crowne Hall, and hide, however fate has other plans.
But if Grayson and I are fated, then our fate is forbidden.
Our happily ever after will only end one way...in heartbreak.

Forbidden Fate is the third book in the Crowne Point universe. You need to have read Stolen Soulmate to read Forbidden Fate.


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Forbidden Fate continues from where we left Story and Gray in Stolen Soulmate. From the start of Story and Gray’s journey in Stolen Soulmate I have been OBSESSED with their story. I can safely say that what I love, love, love about their romance is EMOTION involved, the heart wrenching emotions, and Mary Catherine Gebhard definitely did not disappoint in Forbidden Fate!

This book was everything I thought it was going to be and more - angst, love, loss, betrayal. The moment I flipped to the first page I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it; it gripped me from start to finish and left me feeling all kinds of emotional after I was done.

I’ve been rooting for Story and Grey SO hard from the very beginning and this book hit me right in the heart with all the angst - it KILLED me!

Don’t want to give away any spoilers but 10/10 would recommend, one of my FAVOURITE romance books this year.

Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen by Lucy Christopher 

Synopsis:
It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere. 

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? 

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

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I'll start off by saying that when I first picked up this book, I really, really, honestly didn't think I was going to like it but boy was I wrong - it was beautifully written, it really connected with me as a reader and the ending just broke my heart. I'm usually not one for kidnapping books, just because I've never seen of the appeal about them but for some reason I decided to pick up this book and I can't be more happy that I did. The first time I read it, I honestly didn't know what to think ; I was equally parts horrified and amazed, I think from the book? Till now I'm not quite sure how to describe it, it's a reading experience that is singularly exceptional.

I'll delve right into the plot. So basically the book starts off with the main character, Gemma. She's a sixteen year old English girl who's in the airport, and gets kidnapped by Ty (I'll get to him in just a second) Initially I didn't like Gemma, she seemed like a very flat character with just nothing that really jumped out at you but as the book went further and further on, she became more and more relatable to me and I think that's what really drew me in the second time I read it. She's a fantastically well-developed character, with every bit of the struggles a sixteen- year old teenager faces.

Then comes in Ty. I'd say out of the two characters, Ty would have to be my favourite. I love that he's conflicted with himself and struggles to find himself, yet is so sure in the fact that he loves Gemma and would even go so far as to kidnap her. The book is centered around the idea of Stockholm Syndrome, and if you looked at it on the surface, it would look like the story of Gemma falling in love with her captor, Ty as time goes on. But if you look deeper, you'd see it is more than that - it's not just about how she falls in love with Ty, but it's about her struggle to understand him, about how she starts to question her life before Ty took her away, struggling with herself because in the end, she loves him even though she knows he was wrong.

The lines blur between the relationship of a captor and a victim to the one between two people who love each other. She loves him, yet struggles with herself because she knows it's wrong to love him, that she should be disgusted, but she can't help herself. I think that's my favourite part of the novel - the way she struggles with herself, trying to reason with the wrongness that she feels about loving Ty, yet is helpless to change her feelings otherwise.

This book was written in the form of a letter and a recount, which I have to say isn't really the usual type of style that I prefer but it surprised me how much the writing style of the book added to the structure. It wouldn't have been the same if it were in first person, because you really get to see the essence of the book; Gemma's struggle with her inner emotions, her initial desperation to run away from Ty to how she gradually accepts him.

That brings me back to the ending, which basically broke my heart in seventeen thousand ways in every direction, simply put. Let's take this step by step.  (Spoiler Alert! If you haven't read the book yet, don't read this part. Skip to the next paragraph. Trust me on this one :)) Gemma gets bitten by a poisonous snake, and Ty tries to save her with some anti-venom he stored away but it ends up not working, leaving him with a dilemma: give her more anti-venom and wait it out, or bring her to the nearby mining community so that she can get help, effectively giving her up. Basically, he decides to bring her back to civilisation to save her, and towards the end when they're rolling her into the hospital and he has the chance to escape but Gemma reaches out for his hand and he still stays, despite knowing what consequence it will have for him.

The book draws to a close with Gemma explaining that it was the day before his trial, and was sort of trying to find closure to the incident. And in a way she did, and it was so real, and so relatable that I absolutely loved it. It's one of those books that really messes up your brains and makes it go left right and center thinking about it, and in the end you're still not completely sure what just went on but you know that you loved it anyway.

It was definitely a very complex and intense read and while it may be hard to take the first time round, just stick with it. Read it once, twice more times and it'll grow on you. It's not one of those with a clearly happily ever after fairytale ending, nor is it one of those that answers all your questions about the book at the very end. But I promise - it's worth it!

It's been a while but I'm back!

So.. it's been a while, least to say, but I'm back! It's been a hectic year so far with just about, oh, I don't know, a thousand and one exams or so but here I am *pushes stacks and stacks of textbooks from the table*

Since I've been gone for quite a while, I thought I might do a quick sum up of the books I've read since I last posted (I'm so excited for this - I've picked up some really, really good books recently that I've really loved!) Some aren't quite my usual genre, but I still really enjoyed them (you'll see)

Without further ado, here's what I've read in the last few months or so:

1. Winter by Marissa Meyer 

I didn't actually enjoy the first book of the series, but as I read on, I grew to like each book more and more! - I loved this last installment of the series of the most, partly because it was when all the little parts of the story came together and all the characters met, and partly because my OTP for this story finally came together : Cress & Thorne! But if you haven't read it yet, I won't spoil it for you :) 

2. Colleen Hoover 

So as you can see I may/may have not gone on a little Colleen Hoover reading spree - it was just so hard to put down after the first book! I'll admit, I wasn't too sure about the books at first but once I started I just couldn't stop! I read Ugly Love and Hopeless in addition to the books above, but I'd have to say out of all of them my favourite would be either Maybe Someday or Confess. I love the characters so much and all of Colleen Hoover's books are a great romance to read! Some of them are a little more serious than the others, be warned. 

3. This Shattered World/Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 

 
Again, I don't quite remember loving this series as much as I did when I read it this time round. I thought the first book was okay ; it wasn't terrible but it wasn't very striking to me but this series is one of those that the magic only starts to come in around the second or third book. By the second book you start to see how the story comes together and how everything is related, and I really like that about this book!

4. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Okay so this is the book that is a little different from what I read - it's not the usual YA book by any means. Wait actually, scratch that. It's not a YA book at all, it's a fiction book but I just couldn't resist putting it on here because it's so, so, so good! The characters, the plot, the depth of the characters..... the list could just go on and on!

I have so much more to say about this book, so I'll leave it here for now but I'll definitely post a review later!









5. Stolen by Lucy Christopher 

Again, not my usual type of book. When I first read it actually, I was a teensy weensy bit disturbed by it if I'm honest. The book is written as a letter from this girl who was kidnapped by this boy, and she recounts everything that happens as she writes a letter to him the night (or day? Never mind, doesn't really matter) before he goes to court to receive his sentence.

I felt like it was a bit of a tough book to take initially, but the second time I read it I absolutely loved it. It's quite intense and heavy, but I love the plot and characters and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a good read. - mind you, it may not be for everyone but it's worth a try!

A Little Something Fun #2

My this weeks A Little Something Fun is...... a picture! I found it on EpicReads the other day and thought it was so funny, not to mention so, so  relatable!

By the way this was totally me after finishing the Red Queen and a whole bunch of other books - I was stuck for days* 

Top 10 Mondays: Writers

1 .Amy A. Bartol - if you've been reading this blog for a while, then you'll know how much I love her writing. 'Nuff said 

2. Jennifer L. Armentrout - I love how even though all her books are paranormal -fantasy based, they still have a bit of humour in them and there's always this occasional funny line that makes you laugh. 

3. Cassandra Clare 

4. Victoria Aveyard- even though she's only released one book, I loved it so much that she just automatically earns a spot on my Top 10 Writers

5. Susan Ee- her writing style is amazing and I love the descriptive language of her work 

6. Sarah J. Maas- her stories always have an incredible plot that always leave you with the biggest book hangover ever and you don't even know what hit you 

7. Tahereh Mafi - The Shatter Me series was absolutely gold 

8. Michelle Hodkin 

9. Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles 

10. Marie Lu, author of the Legend series  

Review: Darken The Stars by Amy A. Bartol

Darken The Stars by Amy A. Bartol

Book 3 of the Kricket Series

Kyon Ensin finally has what he’s always wanted: possession of Kricket Hollowell, the priestess who foresees the future. Together, their combined power will be unrivaled. Kricket, however, doesn’t crave the crown of Ethar—she has an unbreakable desire to live life on her own terms, a life that she desperately wants to share with her love, Trey Allairis.

As conspiracies rage in the war for Ethar, Kricket’s so-called allies want to use her as a spy. Even those held closest cannot be trusted—including Astrid, her sister, and Giffen, a member of a mysterious order with a hidden agenda. But Kricket’s resolve will not allow her to be used as anyone’s pawn, even as the Brotherhood sharpens its plans to cut out her heart.

As the destiny prophesied by her mother approaches, Kricket will backtrack through her fiery future to reshape it. For she knows one thing above all else: the only person she can truly count on is herself.

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I received this e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Please excuse me if nothing I write here make sense because right now my thoughts are a huge blubbering mess.I finished the book and when I reached the last page and read the last sentence, my reaction was literally 'What? IS THIS BOOK MISSING A PAGE OR SOMETHINGS?' I should probably start this interview though by saying how much of a fan of Amy Bartol's I am, whether be it of her amazing Premonition series or the books from her Kricket series, I love everything she writes and if you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know how much of I love her works. 

That being said, it makes me really sad to give this book such a low rating - 2.5-3/5 stars. Why you may ask? 

Throughout the whole book, I was seriously confused and had absolutely no idea what was going on. Really. I feel like Kricket is jumping back and forth between Kyon and Trey, and I have absolutely no idea what to think. You know how usually when you read a book with two male main characters competing for one female character's attention, you will have an obvious favourite right? 

Usually, at the back of the mind you already know who you want the female character to end up with.But no, not in this series. For the first two books of the series, I really wanted Kricket to end up with Trey and I was so sure she was going to end up with him, until I read Darken The Stars, and BAM now I'm in an absolute mess and I've no idea what to think.

So basically this series starts of with this girl named Kricket, who is actually from this planet called Ethar but her parents brought her to Earth to protect her but they've supposedly died, leaving her an orphan. One day, she meets Trey and his group of military guys (their called Cavars in the book) and they end up kidnapping her to bring her back to Ethar to face her crimes because her mother was from Almeeda and ran away with Kricket's father, who was from Rafe. Now let me explain about the houses of Ethar: Ethar is split up into several houses, the main ones being Almeeda and Rafe. They're not just any two houses, no they're sworn enemies. 

Anyway, so there's a prophecy that one house will fall and one will rule all, blah blah blah (you know, the usual.)So anyway, Trey brings Kricket back to Ethar and of course, they fall in love despite all the complications they face.  One of them being Kyon.And this is where it gets complicated. So Kyon is from the other house, Almeeda and wants to bring Kricket to Almeeda because she has gifts- she's a soothsayer, and later in discovers that she has the gift of precognition as well. And that's not all! Kyon also wants to make her his consort, and yes, it's as creepy as it sounds.

OKAY, so now that I've given you guys the background information to the story, especially for those of you who haven't read the first book, let me get down to the actual review of Darken The Stars.My first thoughts when I finished the book: it wasn't terrible, though the plot was as confusing as anything. The thing that I had the most problem with was Kricket's 'love life', we could call it. 

She keeps jumping from one guy from another and it's really confusing me.I get that she doesn't know who to choose and all, but she does rash things in the book without any explanation that makes absolutely no sense to me.Darken The Stars starts off with how Kricket was captured by Kyon, and he brings her to his island-resort thing so they can have private time and get to know each other. 

She tries not to fall in love with him, as she loves Trey (or at least that's what we thought) but inevitably, she falls in love with him and becomes his consort, EVEN THOUGH she's promised herself to Trey and even though she and Trey didn't have the ceremony, they were as good as married.

 But no, Kricket ends up SLEEPING with Kyon and falls in love with him, and later on when she meets up with Trey (because she's on this undercover mission to assassinate Kyon's father but that point is irrelevant at the moment) she asks him of one things in case she doesn't make it, and I quote:

"PROMISE ME YOU'll PROTECT KYON AFTER I KILL EXCELSIOR"

I mean, come on woman for the love of dear god why would you say that to him? I was practically screaming "You love Trey god-dammit woman what's wrong with you!" the whole time and came very close to wanting to bang my head against my laptop screen.  

Kricket was basically transformed from a very likable main character to this whiny, indecisive girl that quite frankly really irritated me. And what's more important - Amy took away one of the parts i love the most about the book - the Cavars: Trey, Jax and Wayra. 

Their interactions and conversations with each other and Kricket was one of the things I loved the most about the first two books, and yet they barely appeared in this third book even though I'm pretty sure they play a major part in the story! 

I can only pray and hope that this is not the last book, because if it is I swear I'm going to become a monk and run away to the far far east because I'll never be able to face life again if this book doesn't have a fourth instalment. 

Interview Fridays: Jem from Lime Light Literature (Round 4)

Hey! It's Friday and you know what that means.....interview time! Today is our 4th and last round of Q&A for me and Jem, and after this we'll be announcing something fun that hopefully you guys will all enjoy as much as this!

Anyway, here is the Q&A! As usual, links are below.

1.     What books have you read so far this month? Any favorites?

My August TBR consisted of 4 books, 2 of which I have read already.

I read Oleah Chronicles: Truth by Michelle Johnson which in all honesty isn’t my normal type of

read BUT I am sooo happy I did read it! The storyline and characters were all so captivating. I will 

admit there were a few times I cried. GUILTY AS CHARGED haha

I look forward to the recently announced sequel!

I also read If I Stay by Gayle Forman and WOW. I finally realise all the rave around it! The writing

style was so different but I really enjoyed the perspective and flashbacks. I definitely cannot wait to

get the rest of the series!

2 2. Which book character do you think you relate to the most/and are most similar to? From which book?

Damn, this is a hard one…I think I am most similar to Sydney from Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover. My reasons for this are that I find a lot of myself in her in the sense that I like to stay home and be in my own company. My passion for songwriting is easy relatable to Sydney.

Final reason: Ridge. I mean come on. Is there any other reason, he’s intelligent, witty, romantic, adorable and he really opens your eyes up to the life without hearing.

Tbh, I’m so obsessed with Griffin Peterson’s music, it has become the only thing I listen to most days.

3 3. Who are your top 3 favourite female characters? Why?

·      Sahara Winters – From Harvard To Whoredom by Candice X. Sahara is from such a different background to most of us and I completely admire her strength to go through with what she has.

·      Angel Seriki & Mrs Seriki – Oleah Chronicles: Truth by Michelle Johnson. Honestly, this family has to endure so much throughout the story, both these characters have developed incredibly as the story progresses!

4 4. Do you set a goal for the number of books you read per month or do you just pick up whatever you see when you want?

When I first began book blogging and really got into the avid reading side of things, I was just picking up a book whenever I felt like it.

However, I am an incredibly organized person and I like to set myself a schedule/deadline so I try to read a maximum of 4 books each month or 5 if I’m lucky enough to read quite a quick and small one.

   5. Do you prefer reading hardcover books or softcover books? Why?

Well to be completely honest, I don’t have a huge amount of hardcover books though I wish I did have a lot more. So you can imagine that I read a lot of paperbacks instead but I do enjoy the hardcovers more, due to the spines not bending so easily and there are just so many beautiful hardcovers out there!

6 6. If you had to pick one genre to read that wasn’t YA, what would you choose?

Young Adult, I do have a few New Adult books and I love them so much. Not only because they are full of swoon-worthy sexy men but also because there is just something beautiful about the characters connection.

For example, Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James.

It’s the book that everyone thinks is purely all about sex, sex and more BDSM. Whereas I find it to be more about Ana and Christian’s connection - how she uncovers his secrets and opens him up to a better light.

7 7.   What’s your favorite non-YA genre book? Why?

One Night Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas. I mean the story honestly couldn’t get much sexier, emotional and the characters really developed well. Can’t wait to read One Night Denied and One Night Unveiled.

8 8. When you read, do you listen to music? Any particular songs?

Yes! I love listening to music when I read! It’s calming and relaxing to read along with. As I said in Question 2, I have been listening to Griffin Peterson a lot, as well as Iwan Rheon – Game Of Thrones FTW! and I listen to a lot of Christina Perri and Ellie Goulding – BAES <3

9 9. Is there a certain time you prefer to read (weird question I know but I feel like it’s important ;)

I read during my lunch breaks and just before I go to bed each night.

10. If you could recommend one book to a person who hates to read, which book would you recommend and why?

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. A light, humorous contemporary romance that is sure to win anyone over.

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And that's it for this weeks Q&A session!

You can find Jem at her lovely blog limelightliterature.blogspot.com or at her instagram instagram.com/bookishromantic

Other book bloggers, as always, if you would like to participate please drop me an email at thatcrazbookobsession@gmail.com or drop me a little note on my social network sites below!

Instagram: instagram.com/thatcrazybookobsession

Twitter: twitter.com/evergracefully