The Darkest Star (Origin #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxed can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initally assmes is a Luxen.. but he is in fact something much  more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head...

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the universe of the Lux in this brand new series, featuring beloved characters both new and old. 

Review

I wasn't sure what to think of this book when I first started it. BUT WOAH! This book was AH-MAY-ZING! I got sucked in really quickly and zoomed right through it!

The character development in this book was awesome! Luc reminded me of Rhysand from ACOTAR, who is my all-time-favorite book bf, so of course, I liked him almost immediately.
I also liked that even though this book is about 👽, there are also many comparisons to today's society. People are arguing over and protesting 👽rights sounds all too familiar. Also, the comparisons to mixed relationships being dangerous. Even though things have come a long way for biracial relationships, we still have so far to go.

I absolutely ♥ ♥ ♥ed this book! I was so mad when I got to the last page then looked on GoodReads and found out that I don't even know how long I will have to wait to see what happens next.

One thing that will make the wait a little better... This book is the first in a new series, based on the world from the author's Lux series. I started reading it immediately after finishing this book.

While you do not have to read the Lux series to understand or ♥ this book, I do recommend it. I am finding that reading this book before reading the Lux series gives some spoilers away.

However, I think the author did an awesome job world building in this book and in the Lux series. She did so in a way so that readers that started with this book could perfectly understand the world, while not being redundant for those that had already read Lux.

Again, if you have not read the Lux series yet and think you might want to at some point, I do recommend reading it first. However, if you don't ever plan to read it, dive on in to this series!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

Three Mages and a Margarita Blog Tour and Giveaway

Three Mages and a Margarita
Annette Marie
(The Guild Codex: Spellbound #1)
Publication date: September 14th 2018
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.
It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview—to see if I’d mesh with their “special” clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That’s the definition of fitting in, right?
I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they…offered me the job?
It turns out this place isn’t a bar. It’s aguild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I’m exactly the kind of takes-no-shit bartender this guild needs, or there’s a good reason no one else wants to work here.
So what’s a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course—with a pay raise.
—
Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn’t a reverse harem. It’s 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Annette Marie is the author of Amazon best-selling YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced adventures and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it's not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Review:
I wasn't really sure how I would like this book, mostly because of the title. I thought it might be corny. The description and the fact that it clarifies that it's definitely an urban fantasy book made me give it a chance.

Also, when I requested to join this blog tour, I didn't realize that the author also wrote the Red Winter series, which I ZOOMED through last summer and ABSOLUTELY LOVED! I didn't realize this until I went to add the book on Goodreads and got really excited. I figure the author couldn't write that awesome series then turn around a year later and release a sucky book.

I'm really glad that I gave this book a chance! It was awesome!

When I first started reading this book, I liked Tori, the main character, almost immediately. She's awesome!

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes urban fantasy and is up for a fun, quick read!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Xpresso book tours for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour!

GIVEAWAY!
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Broken Worlds (Jagged Scars #5) by Jo Schneider

Wendy has watched too many of her friends and family fall prey to the Primate. Thousands have died at his hands, simply because he deemed them unworthy of life. With her newfound allies, who possess more information on the Primate's vicious plans for domination, Wendy urges her weakened people to strike.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Wendy leads a group into the heart of the Primate's city. When they find technology that could wipe out what is left of the world to make room for the Primate's believers, they each must decide what they are willing to sacrifice to keep their friends safe. Even if that sacrifice means losing each other. 

Review

First of all, I would like to thank Jo Schneider for sending me a copy of this book!

If you have not read the rest of the Jagged Scars series, I recommend reading my review of the first book, Fractured Memories. I will try not to include too many spoilers from the rest of the series in this review, though.

I waited so long to read this book! I am really glad that I read Spoiled Gambit  (book #4.5) before reading this book. It was a great refresher on what happened in Crippled Hope (book #4), and I loved that it gave Cal a chance to continue his story.

However, you do not need to read the Spoiled Gambit novella to understand what happens in this book. I recommend it, though, as it will give you quite a bit of insight into what happens when Cal and Dennis go on a mission at the end of Crippled Hope. 

This is the last book in the Jagged Scars series. I have been dying to know how it ends!

This book, just like all the others in this series, didn't disappoint! This book was just as good as the rest of the series.

**SPOILER ALERT** 

At 92%, I started getting a little worried about the ending.  I get showing how much Dennis has changed, but I didn't like the way the ending was done.

I loved everything about this book and this series, until I got to the end. I feel like it could have been written better. I think the author tried to wrap things up a little too neatly at the end. Jo Schneider is excellent at writing cliffhangers, as she demonstrated in the rest of the series. I think I would have been upset if the series ended with too much of a cliffhanger, I just feel like it was wrapped up too quickly at the end.

Although I was a little disappointed with the way this book ended, I still loved it!

I'm really sad that the series is over, though! I wish I could see what happen next!

I definitely plan to check out more of Jo Schneider's work!