Lantern by Chess Desalls

Five days before Halloween, all sixteen-year-old Tori has on her mind is vacationing with her family and scoring lots of candy. Her grandmother’s estate, with its Gothic spires and trails that lead out to the woods, holds an unexpected secret: a lantern that lights up for Tori and nobody else. Certain that it’s a ghost or a prank, she investigates further and discovers a mysterious life that shines in the darkness.

 This charming and romantic tale was a breath of fresh air. Sixteen-year-old Tori adores Halloween and she can hardly wait to get her costume ready for this year's trick-or-treat. But until the spooky night, there is time for a short vacation so Tory, her little brother and her parents are paying a visit to her grandmother. Grandma lives on a big spooky ranch close to the forest and this makes it even more enjoyable for our girl. One night she wanders around the woods and sees a light deep into the woods so she decides to investigate. Who could have lit the lantern in the middle of he forest and for what reasons?

Grandma knows all about the old lantern and so does Tori's father but what they don't know is that the lantern is magic : a tiny boy lives inside it. Tori soon learns that the boy's name is Jared and he is from another realm .He doesn't remember how he got inside the lantern , his last memory was while he was working in the workshop building lanterns and now he seems to be captive in one of them.

Tori is determined to free Jared from his trap..

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Impure Bargains by Decadent Kane

ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Desiderus has served Ba'al faithfully for nearly one hundred years. When Haven Rowe put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, her fierce nature stirred emotions he hadn't felt since before Ba'al claimed him. With his sight set on consuming her body and soul, he'll use every deceptive idea at his disposal to make sure she belongs to him. 

When Haven walked in on a demon stealing her brother, Jeremy, her entire world unraveled. Born to a family of magic users, yet unable to use magic of her own, Haven will do anything to get her brother back from the depths of hell, even if it means she has to bargain her soul. 

With the help of a witch, Haven seeks out loopholes to the soul bargains that have been made. She either finds a way out for her and Jeremy, or they both might be lost forever. What she doesn't count on is the betrayal of her own body and the insurmountable attraction she has for the demon she's trying to escape.

"Desiderus , of course. Did you see him? He's a demon with angel wings. An angelic demon. Did you know demons didn't fall from heaven? Ba'al made them from humans."

YEY, sex with a hot demon!!!..ahem. Back to reality.

Considering that this is the first book from the Impure  Series, the plot so far is promising.  Can't really say it's a complex book with complex characters (for now. Maybe they will evolve with the following books.), but this book is definitely filled with paranormal, fantasy, action and a little bit of  humor.

When Heaven's younger brother  is taken to Hell to Ba'al himself , our heroine tries to find a way to rescue him and  break the contract between Jeremy and the king of Hell.  Seems like in order to get  informations about the contract and find a way to break it, Heaven must make a deal  of her own with Ba'al's right hand , Desiderus.  

But on her way to fulfill her goal , Heaven ends up as a prisoner of the Celest . Bewitched and unable to find her way back on her own, Heaven is saved by the demon with purple eyes. With the help of a witch Desiderus manages to bring the old Heaven back to herself , yet she remains marked by the Celest witch . 

Meanwhile our good witch found a way to break Jeremy's contract and Heaven is taken to Hell. Her brother is free to go, but little did she knew that Desiderus tricked her . Now Heaven is bounded to Desiderus and she is about to play a big part into fulfilling Ba'al's plans.

"I'm a demon. You made a deal and now your end must be paid.".

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The Scarlett Legacy by K.N. Lee

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wizards. Shifters. Murderers. 
Welcome to Woodland Creek where one family of wizards gives new meaning to organized crime. 

Evie Scarlett wanted two things: marry Parker Drake and leave Woodland Creek. 
But when Hugh Prince, a dangerous crime boss, is mysteriously murdered while awaiting trial for her father's murder, all eyes turn to the Scarlett family. 

The arrival of Hugh's youngest son, Avalon brings a century-old feud to a dangerous climax. This vengeful wizard gives Evie's older brother a choice: die or give Evie to him. 


When Evie's plans for escape are broken by familial duty, she must find a way to protect those she loves and win back her freedom. What she finds is an ancient power that she never knew she had. 

A power that might change everything she thought she knew about her family.

"Just like her mother, Evie transformed into a creature of myth, legend, and nightmare."

Evie was born into a family of wizards...or so she thought that she is entirely a wizard.  Caught in the war between two families , Evie tries to keep the love of her life and end the war between Scarlett and Prince . But on the road  discovers that her mother, brother and sister-in-law they all have another dark side .  Including Evie, she discovers new powers and her true form.  Deep buried secrets come out to light..

I really enjoyed this story, however I'm not  sure if we really have a a main character or characters as the book is written from both Evie and Olivia's sides and Evie didn't really do much in the book. She went to Avalon more because she was forced by her mother, then she got saved by her and the rest of her family.  Olivia pretty much did all of the dirty work. and her husband Wes, also Evie's brother,is no better than Avalon. Looking from outside, this entire war started because of the Scarlett family  and continued by Wes. 

But that is just how I see this story. just feel that the story didn't really had a happy ending. The good guys turn out to be the bad guys and vice-versa. Evie , Parker and Avalon Prince are the  innocent characters that crossed the path of war. Evie's mom, Wes and even Olivia. I believe they are the real bad characters in the story., I mean...even the book cover is suggestive.

Anyway, I have a weird way of seeing things.

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Rock the Heart by Michelle A. Valentine

For the last four years, good girl Lane has regretted breaking up with Noel Falcon. She thought she was sensible when she told him his dreams of being a rock star would get him nowhere, but now that he's a rock god and her career is stagnant, she realizes just how wrong she was. When Noel hires the marketing company where Lane is an intern, she’s forced to see him again. If she wants to land her dream job as executive within the company, she has to win him over and secure his account. Too bad Noel is still pissed at her for breaking his heart.

When Lane’s company flies her to a Black Falcon concert to gain Noel’s attention, emotions run high the moment she sees him and realizes she’s far from over him. But Noel’s countless trysts with groupies and his cocky attitude make Lane believe he isn’t the same guy she once loved—now he seems to only want her body. Then after Lane discloses she needs him to procure a job, Noel proves he’s a changed man by forcing her to go on the road with him in order to get it.

After Lane reluctantly takes Noel up on his offer, she becomes willing to do whatever it takes to keep him satisfied, even if it means succumbing to his seductive ways. Lane soon finds deception is a dangerous game and she’s not the only one playing.

I’m familiar to Michelle Valentine’s writings, as a matter of fact I’m a fan of her Hard Knocks  series and I’m so looking forward to read Xavier Cold. Meanwhile I decided to give it a try to her Black Falcon series , even if rock stars are not really my type of reads. Maybe it’s just me but  rock star stories  are a  little too  … unrealistic .

Noel Falcon is the lead guitar player and singer of the Black Falcon rock band. Lanie  is the hardworking good girl who tries to achieve a job at a marketing company.  If she wants to land her dream job as executive within the company, she has to win him over , secure his account and get more info about the Falcon Charity. But she soon finds out that the only reason why she got this chance is because Noel insisted for her to come and travel with the band for two weeks. Now Lane is afraid . Is Noel trying to get her back? Or is it revenge?

 I was about to rate  it  4 stars but as I was reaching the end of the book something happened that made me not like the characters as much as I thought I do. When Lane finds out that Noel is expecting a child with another girl  , she simply did what she does best .  Turning her back on Noel when things are not as she wants them to be. Insane , she left Noel four years ago because she thought that he pays more attention to his music and not to her, even if Noel was obviously madly in love with her and would give an arm just to bring her back. He was left alone and  heartbroken but she didn’t care.

"Just stop. " he closes his eyes. "Just stop, okay ? You're ripping out my heart and you don't even know it. [...] The fact that I'm not allowed to do a God damn thing about it because you're not mine is killing me. ''

  Noel made it clear that he does not love Sophie , he just wants to be a good dad to his kid and prove that he is better than his own father. But of course Lane didn’t want to hear a single word and starts throwing tantrums each time she doesn't get her way. Sweetheart, the world doesn’t revolve around you. To make things even worse , pushed by despair and fear  of losing Lane the second time , Noel ,too , starts acting like a 12 years old .

 But fortunately the plot twist at the end saved the book for me.

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