Thursday, August 13, 2015

In Plain Sight by Senayda Pierre





Blurb:

“Hide in plain sight. Grandfather’s mantra is forever ingrained in me.”

Sahalie is the last of her lineage, bearing supernatural abilities gifted by the Spirits. She knows that in order to unlock her full potential she needs to find her mate. Yet in order to protect herself Sahalie knows she cannot reveal her secret abilities nor share her lineage with anyone but her true mate. She feels an instant and an undeniable connection with Yuma. Her Spirit Animal, a sassy little red fox is also drawn to the man’s Spirit Animal, a powerful tiger.

The problem?

Yuma is the son of an Elder. An Elder’s son means Yuma is neck-deep in community politics and drama. And she wants none of that. While Sahalie tries to avoid Yuma, the pull of true mates is evident and soon they find themselves unable to stay apart.

“What is it about you Sahalie?” I voice the question that’s haunted me since I first locked gazes with her.

Yuma has a very difficult decision to make… Will he follow his heart and Spirit Animal’s wishes and claim Sahalie as his true mate or will he uphold his duty to the communities and follow through with an arranged mating?

Yuma’s life-altering decision will affect everyone… not just him and Sahalie but the future of all their communities.









Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25426143-in-plain-sight?ac=1


Buy links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LUBz0w

B&N Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-plain-sight-senayda-pierre/1122360610?ean=2940152042795
iTunes/iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/in-plain-sight/id1021338385?mt=11
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/in-plain-sight-39


REVIEW

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I agreed to review this new release for Senayda Pierre. I am familiar with a previous release of hers Willfully Compelled and I enjoyed that book a lot. The idea of Spirit Animals struck me as a unique idea and was definitely interested to see where the author would go with it. 

What a roller coaster this book was!

Within the first few pages it is more than obvious that the author did a great deal of research. I was intrigued with the idea of Silver Fox and Sky Woman. As the book unfolded I have to be honest and admit that I assumed this book would be a cut and dry - hero[ine] finds mate and are revealed to be Silver Fox and Sky Woman reborn. WRONG!
 

Sahalie has been hiding her true heritage among her people her entire life. [Sidenote: the author makes it plain that these people that live in within this community are NOT human. They are more in tune with the elements Earth, Wind, Air and Fire and are paired with an actual animal that is their Spirit Animal] Unlike the majority of her community, she has the ability to possess two Spirit Animals and has to conceal this or else her life would no longer be her own. As a result of bad pairings in the past their race has become severely diluted and a lot of the prominent bloodlines that once existed have now disappeared. It is Sahalie's wish to temporarily leave the community to go to college so that she can study genetics and figure out what her community's issue is. Unfortunately, while pursuing her education a member of her family passes away and she returns home.

Sahalie returns home and that is where she meets Yuma. It is obvious to me that Yuma and Sahalie are true mates and I am ecstatic. I assumed that the rest of the book is Yuma's pursuit of Sahalie and then their final come together.



Yes they are true mates and yes Sahalie leads Yuma on a merry chase, but Sahalie's initial path is not with Yuma. And this was so hard for me to accept because of the way that it is delivered. Yuma has community responsibilities seeing as how he is being groomed to be a future Elder. He is meant to have a political marriage that will tie their particular community with an equally successful community. What is messed up is that Sahalie is never told this. She goes through the motions of discovering and falling in love with and never being told, by Yuma might I add, that they can't be together. It was absolutely horrible to have in the back of my mind that this beautiful pairing of Yuma and Sahalie can't last. I stayed positive and assumed at the end of the day that Yuma would go against tradition and his father and make the right choice i..e. Sahalie.

The journey for Sahalie to become who the Spirits mean for her to be does not completely include Yuma and I found that to be refreshing. She has a destiny and a purpose - to help her people and the way to do so takes her away from her comfort zone and the community she has grown up with. 

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the characters, no matter how flawed and spineless I initially found some of them to be. The author took great pains to impart upon the reader all of the emotions that these characters are feeling at any point in time and I felt them. They were amazing. Each scene leading up to that horrible moment was so bittersweet, but I loved how it paved the way for Sahalie to accept and fulfill her destiny (for lack of a better word). I absolutely loved every character in this book and appreciated each one. I want a Spirit Animal! 


I will most definitely read this book again and would love it if the author were to revisit these characters.





Much thanks to the author and Rock Star PR for allowing me to read this book via Netgalley. 

Check this Author out:






















Monday, August 10, 2015

Execution Style (Code 11 KPD SWAT Series) by Lani Lynn Vale



 

Blurb:

Miller Spurlock might seem like a laid back man on the outside, but piss him off, or violate his trust, and he’ll show you the meaning of pain.
He was a Navy SEAL.  He could kill a man a hundred different ways and not break a sweat.

He’s also a police officer and member of the SWAT team, which means he has the knowledge and skills to get away with it.

Rage boils in his gut when he witnesses what happens to the beautiful Mercy Shepherd during a SWAT op from hell that even his worst nightmare couldn’t conjure up.  And it surprises the hell out of him when she wants him, and him only, to comfort her in the aftermath.

Miller becomes the one shining beacon of light at the bottom of Mercy’s pit of despair.

The one man that could pull her through the rough days ahead and make her whole again.

And during her road back to herself, she realizes that she’s got the one thing she ever wanted in life…a hero to call her own.​
Review:
The beginning of this book. Dear sweet baby Jesus in a manger----why!? If LLV was trying to give me a heart attack she almost did. I actually put down my Kindle and had to take a break. Mercy Mercy Mercy...WHY...in front of the entire town no less.





For the sake of throwing some new plot devices into her series I can see why LLV did it, but my heart went out to Mercy.


Miller stepped in from jump street and was, for all intents and purposes, her knight in shining armor. He was there for her on the sidelines before it happened, throughout the horrible act and afterwards for the clean up. So without blowing the entire premise of the book I'll put some spoiler alerts up.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER : I did NOT like how Mercy used Miller as her scapegoat baby daddy. In my opinion that's what she was doing and WTH Miller for going along with it. That aspect of their relationship I had no liking for. 

I enjoyed the rest of the book (as per usual for a Lani Lynn Vale book) and was so glad to see previous characters showing up. 

Towards the end of the book, another ball dropped that had me completely worked up again. I was already on the fence with her choice of a villain and how aggressive said villain was, but I quickly got on board with it and then one of the most devastating parts of the LLV book history happened. This accident, so perfectly staged, set up Foster's story. Overall there were parts where I questioned my like of Mercy and Miller, but I did enjoy this different type of LLV book. It isn't going to be added to my fav LLV book list, but it is still worth reading.