Novella Mini-Reviews: Bitter Sweet Love; Evil Red

Title: Bitter Sweet Love (The Dark Elements #0.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: December 1st 2013

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Age Group: Young Adult
Source: NetGalley

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series THE DARK ELEMENTS, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything...right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again...

For two days a book I've been reading put me in a reading slump - it's that boring but I refuse to give up and DNF it - so I decided to read something short but undoubtedly good; imagine my glee when I found this sweet little baby in my Kindle app. It's no secret that I loved White Hot Kiss, but I certainly didn't expect to love this prequel novella just as much.

Dez and Jasmine were not hard to love, both as individuals and as a couple. From best friends to almost-lovers to we-had-zero-contact-for-three-years, they obviously had a ton of history. I understood Jasmine's anger at him because of the way he left without saying a word, especially given the announcement her father had just made. I was wary of Dez at first but when his reason for leaving was revealed... my heart. What he did suddenly became reasonable and nothing but sweet because all that hatred inside him really would have gotten between them. Also, watching Dez trying to win back Jas' heart was just so adorable and entertaining. These two = shipped.

But aside from their heartwarming romance, it was also nice to get an insight into the world of Wardens through the eyes of someone who was, well, a full-blooded Warden. And you have no idea how much I squealed when pre-WHK Layla, Zayne, and Roth - oh, Roth - made an appearance. Can Stone Cold Touch just come out already?

MY FAVORITE PART was Dez and Jas meeting Roth. My bias is showing. Sigh.

RATING:

Title: Evil Red (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2.6)

Author: Nikki Jefford

Release Date: March 2nd 2014

Publisher: Self-published

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: ecopy from the author (Thanks, Nikki! <3)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

L.A. is one tough city, especially while sharing a trailer with four thieving sisters.

Valerie’s plans for a better life and Hollywood grandeur are interrupted after a fateful stabbing lands her in Anchorage, Alaska where government agents expect her to play the role of a vampire hunting La Femme Nikita.

The redheaded vixen is back in her own novelette.

If I hadn't grown to like Valerie in Northern Bites, I seriously wouldn't have even bothered to read this, but I did, and now, I think I may even love her? Me, loving the bitchy type? Wow.

Aside from my newfound love for this redhead, Evil Red confirmed another thing for me: that I no longer have an inkling of like for Fane. I can't believe I once found him appealing in Transfusion. Sure, he's the perfect balance of naughty and nice, but something about him turns me off. Pretty sure it's the way he pushes away and then, all of a sudden, pulls in people, particularly girls. I thought it was just Aurora he did that to, but turns out even Valerie received the same treatment from him.

But back to Valerie. Because I have now gotten a glimpse of her history with Fane, her rudeness to Aurora when she first entered the picture has made sense. I really thought Valerie saw Fane as nothing but property, but turns out she actually liked him for real. Not sure how much, but the way he made her feel special, unlike the guys she'd dated before, got to her, and that's removed her from my mental hit list. I really hope to see her again in Bad Blood.

MY FAVORITE PART was Valerie and Fane's date. Is it wrong to be shipping them now? I want Aurora with Dante anyway :3

RATING:

Book Review: Northern Bites - Nikki Jefford

Title: Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2)

Author: Nikki Jefford

Release Date: July 27th 2013

Publisher: Caffeinated Books Publishing

Age Group: New Adult

Source: ecopy from author for review (Thanks again, Nikki!)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Love bites.
Probation sucks.

Thanks to Dante’s recklessness, Aurora is now partners with Valerie: the redheaded, backstabbing vixen.

Dante is in full flirt mode. Fane’s tactics are more ruthless. Something carnal has awakened in Aurora and neither boy is helping tame her cravings.

When a member of the unit’s team is found dead, Aurora and Valerie are sent after a vampire in Sitka, but Aurora suspects the killer’s much closer to home.

Even though Transfusion didn't impress me much, I picked up this book with high hopes because the author herself told me that there'd be more vampire-hunting in here than in the first book—and more vampire-hunting I got, sure enough. Northern Bites was certainly more addictive than its predecessor, and I had a hard time putting it down.

Along with the action, our main character has also gotten infinitely better. Aurora Sky was braver, more level-headed, and determined, with a clear goal of not letting her vamp hunter identity stop her from continuing with her education (a noble cause, if you ask me). She was also more badass than I could remember her being; even her heart's woes brought about by Fane didn't weaken her that much.

Northern Bites was nothing if not a string of surprises, the first of which was how little I cared about Aurora's love life. I was in this for the action, for the vamp hunting shenanigans, not for the mixed signals that Fane kept sending Aurora's way. I didn't understand just what exactly his problem with her was, and I wanted to shake Aurora until she stopped clinging to the memories and moved the hell on... to Dante. Seriously. The fellow vampire hunter was obviously into her, but Aurora kept denying it until he made an indisputable first move that had me giggling like a madman. *waves Team Dante flag*

The second surprise was how I ended up liking Valerie. She was mean and bitchy, no doubt about that, but at least she wasn't two-faced. I sympathized with how she wanted to make the most out of her un-life and admired her courage to do it. Her relationship with Aurora also felt very real, how it slowly morphed it something like friendship, and I actually held my breath hoping they'd be besties. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

And the last surprise? The killer they were hunting, of course! I didn't see that one coming, and I'm usually good at this kind of guessing game, so props to Nikki Jefford for that one. Aside from the relationships between the characters, I'm not seeing a real arc in this series—think one of those long-running cartoons on TV—but somehow, I'm more than fine with that because these are characters I can't see myself tiring of.

MY FAVORITE PART was the dinner with Aurora, her mom, her grandma, and Dante XD

RATING:

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Northern Bites - Nikki Jefford

Title: Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2)

Author: Nikki Jefford

Release Date: June 27th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Goodreads

Love bites.

Probation sucks.

Thanks to Dante’s recklessness, Aurora is now partners with Valerie: the redheaded, backstabbing vixen.

Dante is in full flirt mode. Fane’s tactics are far more ruthless. Something carnal has awakened in Aurora and neither boy is helping tame her cravings.

When a member of the unit’s team is found dead, Aurora and Valerie are sent after a vampire in Sitka, but Aurora suspects the killer’s much closer to home.

Transfusion (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #1) is on sale for 99 cents until April 7th for Kindle and Nook.

Giveaway!

{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Transfusion - Nikki Jefford

Thanks for dropping by my stop for the Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter tour! You can follow the tour here.

Title: Transfusion (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #1)

Author: Nikki Jefford

Release Date: December 9th 2012
Publisher: Self-published

Source: ecopy from author

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Trailer

If there is one thing eighteen-year-old Aurora Sky wants, it’s to get off the iceberg she calls home. Being kissed before she graduates wouldn’t hurt either.

Then a near-fatal car wreck changes everything. Government agents step in and save Aurora’s life in exchange for her services as a vampire hunter. In Alaska. Basically she’s a glorified chew toy. All thanks to her rare blood type, which sends a vampire into temporary paralysis right before she has to finish the job… by hand.

Now Aurora’s only friends are groupies of the undead and the only boy she can think about may very well be a vampire. And if he’s a vampire, will she be forced to kill him?

I read and loved the first book in Nikki Jefford's Spellbound series, Entangled, so when I found out about this new book of hers, I immediately grabbed the chance to review it. Sadly, Transfusion didn't quite amaze.

Aurora Sky's life wasn't going all too well: her only friend was leaving her for the in-crowd, her dad often went MIA on her and her mom, and to top it all off, she even got in a fatal car crash. But thanks to her rare blood type (AB negative), Aurora was chosen by a secret government agency to be revived, in exchange of her working for them as a vampire hunter.

In the first few chapters before Aurora's second life, she was spunky and sarcastic, two characteristics that almost always make me love a character. The same was true with Aurora, so I was beyond excited for the vampire hunter part of the plot to kick in. But instead, she went downhill when she learned of it. She felt trapped by the service required of her when she hadn't even chosen it, so she decided to live a careless life. She irritated me by making quite a few stupid decisions, I must admit.

But the story started picking up when Fane, the hot goth who turned out to be a real gentleman, came swooping into Aurora's new hopeless life. He was sweet and, at the same time, he knew how to sweep Aurora off her feet. But he wasn't an open book, keeping a lot of things to himself. Honestly, I can't imagine this being a surprise for everyone so I'll just get it out: he's a vampire. His diet wasn't like Edward Cullen or Stefan Salvatore's, but he drank fresh blood just enough to quench his thirst and had never killed anyone, so he's still one of the good vamps.

Fortunately, Aurora—and everything about this book—got better when her hunter training started, and even more so when she started taking on missions. As expected, she was daunted by the thought of killing even if they were evil vampires, but she was good at it, nonetheless. 

Although the characters fell flat for the most part, the climax didn't feel climactic at all, and the twist in the end somehow confused me, I still enjoyed this book. The right word to describe it would be addictive, because I read this for hours on end. The "science" behind this take on bloodsuckers was truly unique and interesting, and Jefford's clear and simple writing has me looking forward to the sequel.

MY FAVORITE PARTS were Aurora and Fane's happy couple moments.

RATING:

    

About the author:
Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt. She is the author of the Spellbound Trilogy and upcoming Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter series. Nikki married Sebastien, the love of her life, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They now reside in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands, 70 miles northeast of Forks, Washington.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway!