Book Boyfriend of the Week #5 - Balthazar from Balthazar by Claudia Gray

This is a meme created by Reading and Things for bloggers to talk about there book boyfriends and tease the readers with things they've said.

Want to participate?

Then all you have to do is:

1) Pick a book boyfriend, it can be from the book your currently reading or from one you've already read.

2) Write what kind of boyfriend he is, and if you want, say why you think that.

3) Pick a quote from his book, long or short, that proves he is the kind of boyfriend you said he is.

4) Make sure the quote, and the explanation DO NOT give away anything from the book (we want all of the twists and plot surprises to remain surprises).

5) Share it! And shout it out using the #Reading and Things.

My Book Boyfriend for this week is:

Balthazar

I was first introduced to Balthazar in Claudia Gray's Evernight series. I found myself liking him almost instantly because he is sweet, caring and a little on the mysterious side. When Claudia released his story which is seperate from the original series, I just couldn't wait to read it and learn more about him and his past.

For hundreds of years, the vampire Balthazar has been alone--without allies, without love.

When Balthazar agrees to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, he has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye's newfound psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel, seductive master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Now Redgrave plans to use Skye's powers for his own evil purposes.

Balthazar will do whatever it takes to stop Redgrave and exact his long-awaited revenge against his killer. As Skye and Balthazar stand together to fight him, they grow closer--first unwillingly, then undeniably. Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by her. . . .

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray's "New York Times" bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.

Here's a little taste:

"I'll protect you as long as you need it. Forever, if that's how long it takes." With Redgrave's vampires spreading the word far and wide, "forever" wasn't a rash promise; it was a realistic estimate. "But Skye - as much as I care about you - you know we can't always be together."

She pushed  herself upright. "What? Why?"

"Because you're alive, and I'm not."

I thought this scene was really sweet.

Okay! Now it's your turn. Who's your current book crush for this week? Please leave a link below.

Feature & Follow # 53

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

This Weeks Question:

If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat…what would it be?

One Book. One Book !!!!!

This question is way too hard.

There are soooo many great and amazing books out there it is almost impossible to chose just one.

So, being completely biased, I chose:

Mystery Falls

by 

Marilyn Phillips

(Yeah, that's me)

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So what's your FF?

To play along visit Parajunkee & Alison Can Read

Follow them, follow their Featured Blogs and then visit as many blogs as you can, posting your answers.

And don't forget to leave your link in the comments section below!

Swoon Thursday # 54 - Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme.

Here's how it works. From the book you're currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag#YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!

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My Swoon for this week comes from:

Spirit
(Elementals # 3)

by

Brigid Kemmerer

First - The Blurb:

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…





Second - My Swoon:

Hunter tasted like cinnamon and smelled like the woods, pine and bark and something very male. His mouth was so sure, and when his tongue brushed hers, a sound escaped her lips. He did it again, letting his thumbs trace over her breasts so lightly that she found herself arching into him. Suddenly she wished they were somewhere else, somewhere private, with curtains and less clothing and....


Please don't blame me. I didn't cut it off there. The author did.


Third - My Thoughts:

Spirit is the third book in the Elementals series by Brigid Kemmerer. It digresses from the Merrick brothers and focuses on Hunter - a Fifth. (A Fifth is someone who has control of all four elements and is usually trained to be a Guide).

Experiencing a very rough patch in life, Hunter suddenly finds himself without family or friends - or so he thinks. Not sure who to trust, he eventually decides to trust no one, and in doing so, complicates his life even further.

Enter Kate. Also a Fifth training to be a Guide, she latches onto Hunter. At first he doesn't know what to make of her. However, as their friendship grows and her secrets are revealed, he finally learns to trust her. Unfortunately, not everything turns out well.

Although the story was entertaining and well written, I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as Spark. (Go Gabriel). But it was still good.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Okay, so what do you think?

If you liked my Swoon, please leave a comment below!

Teaser Tuesday # 53 - Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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My Tease for this week comes from:

 

Spark
(Elementals #2)

by

Brigid Kemmerer

First - The Blurb:

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

He could feel flames coming through the floor, looking for him. Sparks and ash rained down. He wasn't going to make it. He was going to fail. Again. Then a hand closed over his wrist and pulled, hard.

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. So when an arsonist wreaks havoc on his town all the signs point to Gabriel.

Layne is strangely drawn to him. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.

Gabriel can’t let Layne know that the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking.

THE FUSE IS LIT…



Second - The Tease:

"Just me and the horses. Plenty of privacy." She flushed, realizing how that sounded. "I mean..."

His hands found her waist, hard through the thin material of her jacket. "I know exactly what you mean."

She sucked in a breath, but then he was kissing her.

When his lips touched hers, it was like lighting a match: a quick flare of heat, a burst of light, and then a slow burn. Her body melted into his, letting him support her again. His hands slid under the edge of her jacket, and even though there was a turtleneck there, she froze anyway.

His hands stopped.... but his kisses didn't. They slowed, his mouth drawing at hers carefully, his tongue brushing hers until he'd coaxed small noises from her throat and the heat in her body was everywhere, not just near his hands or his mouth. This time, when his hands slid under her jacket, she let him.



Third - My Thoughts:

Spark moves on from where Storm left off, only this time, Gabriel is the focus. For those of you who haven't read this series, I should point out that there are four brothers in total. Chris, the youngest who we met in Storm. Gabriel and Nick, the twins. And Michael, the oldest brother who is in charge of the other three.

In Spark, we get to learn a whole lot more about Gabriel. Like Chris, he is an Elemental and can control fire. Although he appears rough around the edges, he quickly captures your heart. He is most definitely my favorite of the four.

Enter Layne. She is a girl with a secret. Constantly bullied by a fellow student who one day takes things a little too far, Gabriel suddenly notices her. Drawn to each other, the two of them begin to form an unlikely friendship which soon blossoms into more.

I have to say, I liked this book slightly better than the first. It's well written and it is easy to become emotionally involved. There are parts to the story where your heart just goes out to these two characters.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Okay, so what do you think?

If you liked my Swoon, please leave a comment below!



From the TBR Pile # 12 - Existence by Abbi Glines

My good friend Sharrice from Reese's Reviews: My Addiction to Fiction came up with the idea of 'From The TBR Pile'.

If you want to join in the fun, then just do the following:

From your book shelf or your e-reader, pick a book that you own that is still on your TBR list. Post it however you want to, then leave a link below so others can see what's waiting to be read.

This week for me its:

Existence

(Existence Trilogy #1)

by

Abbi Glines

What happens when you're stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course.

Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.

Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.

He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.

I read a review on this one that really got me intrigued so I put it on hold at the local library. Hopefully there will be a copy available soon.

SO NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!

On your blog (and be sure to leave a link) tell me what's waiting on your TBR pile.

Book Boyfriend of the Week # 4 - Jude from Crash by Nicole Williams

This is a meme created by Reading and Things for bloggers to talk about there book boyfriends and tease the readers with things they've said.

Want to participate?

Then all you have to do is:

1) Pick a book boyfriend, it can be from the book your currently reading or from one you've already read.

2) Write what kind of boyfriend he is, and if you want, say why you think that.

3) Pick a quote from his book, long or short, that proves he is the kind of boyfriend you said he is.

4) Make sure the quote, and the explanation DO NOT give away anything from the book (we want all of the twists and plot surprises to remain surprises).

5) Share it! And shout it out using the #Reading and Things.

My Book Boyfriend for this week is:

Jude Ryder (Jamieson)

Jude is one hell of a bad boy but he has a vulnerable side which calls out for him to be loved. If you haven't had a taste of Jude then I highly recommend that you do.



Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude's everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart.




Here's a little taste:

He leaned back, his face victorous. "So that's a yes?"

"Jude," I said in between trying to catch my breath, "that was a hell yes."

Brushing a quick kiss on my cheek, he headed out into the hall. "It will be one hell of a night, Luce. I'm glad I'll get to spend it with you."

Homecoming with Jude Ryder.

There was so much wrong with that, it had to be right.


Jude and Lucy are an unsual couple but they work well together. I really love this series.

Okay! Now it's your turn. Who's your current book crush for this week? Please leave a link below.