Review of The Elementals by Michelle Maddow

Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love!

When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly ... she's apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers--and, to her dismay, by Blake--the school's notorious bad-boy.
Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle's wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.
When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect--it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it's up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town ... and possibly the world.

Title: Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows

Author: Michelle Madow

Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing

Release Date: January 26, 2016

Series: Elementals #1

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Format: eBook and paperback

ISBN: 2940152448849

Review:

This was an absolutely amazing start to a promising series. The combination of The Secret Circle and Percy Jackson is a very accurate comparison. It held all the witchy fun I wanted in a book with the concept of descendants of Olympians. The plot was unique and set the readers up for the next book. 

The story is told from the main character, Nicole. She is the most prominent of the characters in the book. I liked her character. She's strong, yet had her own vulnerabilities. She was well-crafted, as were the other characters that took prominent roles in the plot.

The romance. It was a little bit romantic, Romeo and Juliet, conflict, and chemistry. Blake was a fun book boyfriend. He was hot and stuck in a bad situation. I'm looking forward to seeing where the relationship with Nicole is going to go.

This book gets five glittery stars fro being such a compelling read. It was a great setup for the next book. A young adult book worth joining the adventure!

About the Author:

Michelle Madow grew up in Baltimore, graduated Rollins College in Orlando, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. She wrote her first book in her junior year of college, and has been writing novels since. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle has toured across America to promote her books and to encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.

She is also the author of The Transcend Time Saga, and The Secret Diamond Sisters Trilogy.

Follow her on: 

Facebook:/MichelleMadow

Twitter: @MichelleMadow

Instagram: @MichelleMadow

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http://www.michellemadow.com

https://www.goodreads.com/Michelle_Madow

GIVEAWAY!

Michelle is offering up a fabulous prize during her Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows Virtual Tour event. One (1) lucky winner will receive a Kindle Fire 7”! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5/24/2016 Review of The Hunt by Megan Shepherd

They’ve left the cage—but they’re not free yet.
After their failed escape attempt, Cora, Lucky, and Mali have been demoted to the lowest level of human captives and placed in a safari-themed environment called the Hunt, along with wild animals and other human outcasts. They must serve new Kindred masters—Cora as a lounge singer, Lucky as an animal wrangler, and Mali as a safari guide—and follow new rules or face dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, Nok and Rolf have been moved into an enormous dollhouse, observed around the clock by Kindred scientists interested in Nok’s pregnancy. And Leon, the only one who successfully escaped, has teamed up with villainous Mosca black-market traders.
The former inhabitants of the Cage are threatened on all fronts—and maybe worst of all, one of the Hunt’s Kindred safari guests begins to play a twisted game of cat and mouse with Cora. Separated and constantly under watch, she and the others must struggle to stay alive, never mind find a way back to each other. When Cassian secretly offers to train Cora to develop her psychic abilities—to prove the worthiness of humanity in a series of tests called the Gauntlet—she’ll have to decide fast if she dares to trust the Kindred who betrayed her, or if she can forge her own way to freedom.
Review:
YEP!!! Pure awesomeness! The second installment of this trilogy kept up with my expectations following the first epic book. 
I'm not usually a fan of multiple point of view books, but this one sucks you in and doesn't stop, leaving you wanting so much more.
The stakes were high, the characters lives are all at stake, and the group must learn to believe that the impossible is possible. 
With betrayal and suspicion at every turn, the only ones you could trust, was those you fight for. 
The events will leave you shocked, the end sets up the final book perfectly, and a huge tragedy tests the resolve of everyone involved.
I absolutely loved this addition to The Cage trilogy and give it five glittery stars! This trilogy is a must read!

Book 1 in the trilogy:

The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld in this gripping new series about teens held captive in a human zoo by an otherworldly race. From Megan Shepherd, the acclaimed author of The Madman's Daughter trilogy.
When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.
Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.
As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?
Review:
This is the first book I've read by author Megan Shepherd and all I can say is WOW! This book grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go even at the last page. The story was intense and imaginative. 
The characters were so different, yet connected in a way that you least expect. The whole concept was nothing like anything else I've read before and I'm already dying for more Cora! The heroine is strong and never lets go of who she truly is.
The trials these individuals go through really show what happens when put under the microscope and pressured into different sets of manipulation. Who will cave and who will conquer?
If you are a fan of the paranormal with just the right blend of science fiction and a touch of romance, then this is a must read. I can't sing my praises enough about how much this book surprised me. I will definitely be diving into more books by Megan Shepherd. 
This first installment of the Cage series deserves a million five glittery stars for being one of the best reads so far of 2015. I hope everyone else has the chance to read it when it releases.

Coming in 2017:

The final book in the trilogy

Other books by Megan Shepherd:

About the Author:

Megan Shepherd was "born" into the book world, growing up in her parents' independent bookstore in Western North Carolina. She is the author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2013), and THE CAGE trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2015). When Megan is not writing, she can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. She is represented by Josh Adams at Adams Literary.

http://www.meganshepherd.com

https://www.goodreads.com/megan_shepherd

Twitter: megan_shepherd

December Recap-Pure Awesomeness!!!

Here are the books I've read during December! It was a great month! I had so many good books to read in audiobook, ARC, freebies, library books, and purchased ones! 
My favorites were all the Kristie Cook books, Brodi Ashton books, The Rising by Angela Fristoe, Passion Bites by Mary Hughes, The Hunt by Megan Shepherd, Iniquity by Amy Bartol, Elementals by Michelle Madow, okay, so many more! House of Pawns, Perfekt Control, Letting Go, The Lightening Prophecy, Beautiful Redemption, Iron Kissed, Royal Date, and A Very Grey Christmas. 
The only ones I didn't really love, were Red Hill, The Ghost and the Graveyard, A Drop of Night, Buried, Promise to Marry, A Bit Witchy, Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, Flight, and Shattered. 
So that's it! I read a total of 36!!!!!

 How about you? What did you read in December?