10 Ways to Piss off a Reaper by Leigh Parker

10 Ways to Piss off a Reaper

Author: Leigh Parker
Pages: 291

Synopsis: 
Two years after Leigh’s absurd story, another event occurs involving the volcanic Natalie McIntyre, her life file and the Reaper that’s just pulled it from the Heaven filing system.

To save Natalie from her impending doom, Leigh goes back to Heaven to save her only to be given an ultimatum - pair ten people up in seven days or risk staying in Heaven indefinitely.

Attention Please: This is the sequel for the book  10 Ways to Kill a Cupid (Here is my review if you are interested)

What I liked:
I am hyperventilating right now. Seconds ago, I finished the book and I am ready to tear the world apart just for the third book to come out as soon as possible. Amazing, fabulous, extraordinary, perfect, enthralling, breathtaking,impressive.......
I just can't.... It took my breath away. That ending. I'm sure not even God could have seen it happening. It made me laugh, cry, smile like an idiot and read nonstop.
Natalie and Leigh. Such a pair. Opposites that could never fit better. They have an amazing relationship.
I don't even know what to write, I am that blown away.
All those people fit perfectly with the story. The whole plot was great, didn't have any loopholes and went smoothly.

What I didn't like:
When the hell is coming out the third book?

Perks:
I would write them down, but I then I could as well copy and paste here the whole book.So there you go.


I can guarantee you, you won't be able to put this book down not even for a second. I am the witness number one, since I have an exam from Math and Psychology tomorrow an yet I was reading the book instead of learning.
This is a must read. A completely thrilling new world where apparent ghosts suddenly are bored cupids,the after-death paradise is an infinite job and where God has a gameboy.


I am so so so grateful for the amazing author Leigh Parker for gifting me with her books. 


Excerpts from the book: (I would love to post here more but then again, you should (MUST) buys the book to read more, cause is is just unbelievably amazing)

Wolf Sirens by Tina Smith

Wolf Sirens

Author:Tina Smith
Pages: 380

Synopsis:  
When Lila unwillingly moves to the country town of Shade, she can’t imagine the life-altering events that lie in wait for her. Shade has a curfew and has always been surrounded by myths. A central feature of the town is its famous statue of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, whose spirit is said to protect the innocent.

Lila falls in with a group of intriguing teenagers with luminescent eyes and soon she is drawn into the shadowlands of fantasy and reality, where destiny collides.

A mysterious local girl, Cresida, warns her to stay away, but Lila is drawn to them like a moth to a flame.

Cresida knows their fatal secret and she is honour-bound to protect those who are endangered. But she underestimates Lila’s passion for the mysterious and charismatic clan of youths. Lila begins to feel a call she cannot ignore. Yet her heart is filled with vulnerable desires that begin to turn the underworld upside down, for both hunter and hunted, as she learns they have been waiting for her…

Inspired by the legend of the mythical femme fatale, Wolf Sirens is an intimate tale of unrequited and forbidden love in the underworld, a masterpiece of romance fantasy.

What I liked:
AMAZING! I read it all in just 4 hours. I couldn't put it down. I really love the fact that it there is a valid story about how werewolves came to be. 
Lila is a great character to read about. She acts normal and cannot help herself but to be drawn towards a group with glowing eyes. And the boys..... Sky is just eughmmmmm.... I can't even. I mean, tall, good-looking, glowing blue eyes, just perfect.
I also love Cressida. She seems like a very interesting person, that has a lot to show us.
Every word that was written I belied it. But I was very happy that it wasn't that much of a cliche and had quite a bit of a twist. The ending was just mind-blowing. I would have never thought it could end up like that. But I think there's more to that than it seems.
I just can't wait to read the second part. And the book cover is great as well, very fitting.

What I didn't like: 
From time to time I felt like it was a bit like Twilight, but thank God, the final impression was great. It didn't lack originality. And I thought that it was a bit of an obvious who she is going to end up with. 


All in all, a great book, very thrilling. You just can't put it down.

Excerpt form the book:

Dream Student by J.J. DiBenedetto

Dream Student

Author: J.J. DiBenedetto
Pages: 211

Synopsis: What would you do if you could see other people’s dreams? If you could watch their hidden fantasies and uncover their deepest, darkest secrets…without them ever knowing?

Sara Barnes is about to find out. She thought that all she had to worry about was final exams, Christmas shopping and deciding whether she likes the cute freshman in the next dorm who’s got a crush on her.

But when she starts seeing dreams that aren’t hers, she learns more than she ever wanted to know about her friends, her classmates…and a strange, terrifying man whose dreams could get Sara killed.

“Dream Student” is the thrilling first installment of the Dreams series.

What I liked:
Very realistically written, made me feel like it was me who was at university. Relatable characters, beautiful acts of friendship and love. I have never read a detective story or a story where the main protagonists have to solve a mystery because I don't like that genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. University drama filled with love and mysteries.
The culprit was easy to spot, at least for me, so I expected to make the book less appealing to me. Quite the opposite, I wanted to know how it ends and what happens.
Didn't feel like out of the world, no I-can-take-down-everyone Steven Seagal approach. Showed me how you can solve sticky situations without being a spy and actually saving lives.

What I didn't like:
About halfway through the book I has a very strong suspicion about who is the person behind the crimes, so that took away a bit of that tension and anxiety.

All in all, a nice book with a pieces of nearly everything. Wasn't too slow for me to fall asleep, wasn't too quick for me to die from stress of what is going to happen. 

Excerpt form the book:

10 Ways To Kill A Cupid by Leigh Parker

10 Ways To Kill A Cupid

Author: Leigh Parker
Pages: 265

Synopsis:
Three years after becoming a Cupid, the normally cheeky and cheerful Leigh has to question her work ethics when her next assignment happens to be the woman who killed her.

Meet Natalie McIntyre, actually, no, you wouldn't want to meet Natalie McIntyre, the foul mouthed, anti social Senior Manager at her father's cardboard box factory who really isn't in the mood to spend the next 7 days with a weird blonde haired girl who just will not go away.

Over the course of a week Leigh has her work cut out when she learns that not only is Natalie hell bent on being stubborn, cranky and incredibly hard to pair but the appearance of the blue spark puts everything she’s ever learnt as a Cupid in jeopardy. 

What I liked:
This book is freaking AMAZING! I just couldn't put it down. It was witty and ingeniously written.
The whole concept is very new and refreshing. A point of a cupid, a different spin on what waits for us after we die.
Sometimes you really want to strangle Natalie but simultaneously you want to know if she can get better. Leigh and Natalie have, as it seems, a hate/hate relationship full of bantering and Natalie trying to destroy Leigh.
In the 3/4 of the book, the relationship was a between them was a bit strange for me, but I didn't mind it at all, because the book was just so good.
But the end. My GOD! I really didn't expect that. And I couldn't help myself, so I just smiled till the very last page. I love, I adore this book.

What I didn't like:
What is this even doing here.

Perks:
Just one question. Is there any website where I can sign up for my personal cupid?  A soulmate would come in handy :)

 Excerpt from the book:

The Night Sky by E.K. Eonia

The Night Sky: A Series of Short Stories

Author:E.K. Eonia


Synopsis:
The Night Sky is a series of nine short stories inspired by star gazing and some of the visible stars and constellation in the night sky. Each story weaves into its unraveling a particular star or constellation that captures a part of the essence of that short story. Traveling all over the globe to places like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Hawaii, Japan, North America, Ireland and Iceland, each story captures a series of moments in time reflecting the variety and diversity that exists across the world as reflected by the expansive reach of the Night Sky. With tales of family, love, death, hope and optimism, spanning different times, spaces and expectations each story weaves itself into the canvass that is the Night Sky. This collection is positive, uplifting, humorous and above all human.

What I liked:
Amazingly written. Every time a new story I started I felt I don't want to let go of the previous one but somehow the other one was nearly just as good.
This book consists of few stories from nearly every kind of perspective. I have to say that I have a few favorite of mine.
Orion - the first story. And the best in my opinion. Written in unbelievable way, witty, funny, unbearably cute and romantic. It's very beautiful and feels very natural. It could be made in a short 10 minute movie and I would love to watch it when I am feeling down. It's pretty much a story about love at first sight.
"She walked in, sat down, I was fucked." You just gotta love Phinn. The way he acts is just unbelievable. 
Sirius- At first I didn't realize that this story was written from a point of a dog. I really thought that she was a girl. I loved the HP reference because I am desperately in love with HP.
I love the quirky and actually human way of how the dog's thinking was described. I liked that she declared the flower beds safe. That was just cute.
Seven Sisters- A touching story of an old woman waiting for her end. Yet she seems so full of energy. And I just loved the names of the birds.

What I didn't like:
Some stories were a a bit confusing for me.  But otherwise I don't know what else I should not like. Wait. I know. I don not like that this book has so little recognition. It is better than it seems. 

It was quite a quick read. Took me about an hour. This book is ideal for moments when you want to relax and when you do not seek adventure. Finding a way, clash of cultures, counting stars, family or carrier, couple's decisions, love at first sight, waiting for an end, protecting what you love and taking pride in what you have done.
All I can say is that I am glad that I read this book.

If you are interested in reading, here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/reader/35092-the-night-sky?return_to=%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F17412378-the-night-sky
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17412378-the-night-sky

Swept by Becca Lee Nyx

Swept

Author: Becca Lee Nyx
Pages: 94

Synopsis: 
College is supposed to be a magical experience, a time of self-exploration and discovery. For Crystal and her friends, Ryan and Kelly, this couldn't be closer to the truth. Crystal, the geeky girl on a scholarship, Ryan, the rich entitled kid who feels he is misunderstood, and Kelly who is looking for love in all the wrong places... These three friends will take you on an exciting trip as they encounter situations they never dreamed possible. Mystery men, betrayal, relationships, and steamy sex. All this and more await you in this first book of a trilogy by Becca Lee Nyx.

What I liked:
I liked Crystal from the start.She has a hoarding problem with brochures and likes Harry Potter and Hobbit. She even wore a shirt with Snape on the front. She has high ambitions and wants to work at NASA.  I myself am going to university in the fall so I was quite excited to read this book. It was quite catching and easy to read.
One of the main guys is Gabriel Knight. One hell of a hot name and a person if you ask me. The other one is her friend Ryan. Well if I had to choose I would go with Gabriel. I have to say I put quite put off with Ryan's behavior.
And the cover is just yummy.

What I didn't like:
The first few chapters were very interesting and made me want to read more. But I was a bit taken by surprise when Crystal had no problem sleeping with two guys and having a threesome even thought she has been raped in the past and had very little experience. She seemed a bit reckless when she decided to got to college just because she saw a guy on the campus that caught her eye.
Guys in the story clashed a bit to me. Mostly Ryan. At first he seemed like a nice guy,but then turned into some king of a jerk.
I also think that there was a bit too much of mindless sex between characters even though they had no feelings for each other.
And I imagined the ending to be a bit better. I thought that Crystal would have decided differently.


Perks:
Now I at least know what 'merkin' is. And I actually did google it as soon as it was mentioned in the book.
"The wind was blowing my hair making me feel like some important character in a
romance movie."  -the first sentence. Juts gotta love it :)

I'm glad I had the chance to read this book. Thanks for the chance.

Raised by Hand, Lifted by the Tides by Willet Thomas

Raised by Hand, Lifted by the Tides : a Southern Child's Memoir

 Author: Willet Thomas, Redden Sanders
 Pages: 170

Synopsis:
When we first meet Lily “Lil Bit” Dalton, she is quite literally drowning. This “lip flapping” event, along with others, takes place in the quirky, yet racially divided waterway township of Arcadia, Florida in 1954.

In Raised by Hand, Lil Bit recounts the years between ten and thirteen spent in the care of the woman she considers to be her grandmother, "Bubbah," and this woman's alcoholic son, Bobby. As the story opens, it’s been five years since Lil Bit’s mama, Violet, “dropped her off like nothin’ but a bit of dirty laundry,” when on “Ditch Thursday,” Lil Bit is pulled from the river by Sheriff Marin. The Sheriff’s act of heroism leaves her not only with the secret of what lies beneath the water, but also with gnawing doubts about Sheriff Marin, “the only white man worth a damn in all of Arcadia,” who also knows the river’s secret, but tells no one.

Like the tales told by the young heroines in the classics To Kill a Mockingbird and the Secret Lives of Bees, Lily “Lil Bit” Dalton’s quest to reunite with her mother, while also keeping the secret of the Massaquatta’s murky depths, takes readers on a tumultuous ride filled with adventure and mystery. But more importantly, Raised by Hand answers the age old question: What does it take to be a family?

What I liked:
Though I have read many books, I am a bit ashamed that I haven't read much books with a black girl as the main character. Now I am glad that I did through a little black girl named Lil Bit. 
When I started reading at first, I was a bit hesitant. It didn't seem like my cup of coffee. But after a while the book snatched me in it's story. There wasn't a lot of action. Quite the opposite. At least to me the book had a, I could say, calming effect. It was very pleasant to read. 
The descriptions of the surroundings showed me America in 40's and 50's in a way I never saw it before.
The book shows us what it means to be a family, to belong somewhere, a certain compactness of the community, worth of people and behavior of society. How people act and what they say through the eyes of a small girl, who is wise beyond her age.

 What I didn't like:
I considered to review this book few times in the past. The only thing that stopped me was the synopsis. It seemed a bit chaotic to me and I didn't know what to think of it at first. But after few pages, the book got better.
I prefer more action, so the book was a bit slow paced for me and sometimes went into too much of an detail about something that I believed was not very important for the story.

I would recommend the book for people who enjoy looking at the world through eyes of someone else. Maybe of a little girl who knows more then she should, were there where she should not and for us from time to time remember what it is like to be a child and wonder about the world that we created.