ARC Review: Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen

It's not a crime to steal a heart

Smugglers are cut-throat rascals. At least that's what Isabelle's always been told. But when she's rescued from drowning at sea by the crew of a notorious smuggling ship, her principles are thrown into confusion. Outwitting the king's men fills her with excitement, especially when she's with one mysterious smuggler in particular . . .

I've got to hand it to Marie-Louise Jensen on this one.  Not only was this a highly entertaining and fun read, but she had me guessing up until the very end.  I was close to figuring some things out and piecing together others, but no matter how hard I tried to think about it, I was still surprised when she wrapped up the last revelation in the very end.  I love that kind of read, don't you?

Isabelle and the rest of the crew on The Invisible were a great lot of characters.  And one of things I enjoyed most about this read was the character development throughout its pages.  All of the main characters went through some type of adjustment and growth throughout the story and it was so much fun and all together an exciting ride while watching how they all turned out.

There's romance, suspense, mystery and secrets out the wazoo, and so much fun to be had with this one.  It was a light read overall but in the best possible sense.  I was never overly stressed out no matter how tense things got, but at one time or another I did refuse to put the book down in order to find out what would happen next.  This was my first experience with Jensen's writing and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.  I enjoyed her writing style as well as how she paces her story lines.

Overall I have to say that this was just the type of read I was looking for at just the right time!  Be sure to pick this one up to read when it hits the shelves.

I gave Smuggler's Kiss 3 shamrocks!!!

Countdown: March 2013 (4)

As one of my favorite months on the calendar, due mainly to my Irish roots and the chance to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, it's always a month I look forward to. And in addition to one of my favorite holidays there are a ton of great titles that will make March that much more of a fabulous month next year. Chalk full of great authors, potential new and exciting series, and a few titles that I'm sure will find a permanent home on my bookshelves.

There's even one of two titles that are expected to come out in March that I will be camping out in front of bookstores to make sure I get myself a copy of as soon as humanly possible. OK so I might not be camping out exactly but I will be getting myself to the stores on the release dates or ordering myself a copy and having it beamed my Kindle to get it to me even faster.


Countdown Pick #1:  Wasteland (Wasteland Trilogy, #1) by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan (03/26/2013)

Welcome to the Wasteland. Where all the adults are long gone, and now no one lives past the age of nineteen. Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan’s post-apocalyptic debut is the first of a trilogy in which everyone is forced to live under the looming threat of rampant diseases and brutal attacks by the Variants—hermaphroditic outcasts that live on the outskirts of Prin. Esther thinks there’s more to life than toiling at harvesting, gleaning, and excavating, day after day under the relentless sun, just hoping to make it to the next day. But then Caleb, a mysterious stranger, arrives in town, and Esther begins to question who she can trust. As shady pasts unravel into the present and new romances develop, Caleb and Esther realize that they must team together to fight for their lives and for the freedom of Prin.

Hello new dystopian novel, where have you been?  I'm very excited to add another dystopian title to my countdown, because we all know that I can't get enough of them lately, and it's not looking like that will change much in 2013.  Certainly not with titles like this one hitting the shelves, and the authors threw in a little bit of romance as well!  Goodreads is hosting a giveaway for five lucky winners, so if you're interested head on over there now and sign up!

Countdown Pick #2:  Promises To Keep by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (03/12/2013)

The compendium of creations (SingleEarth, the Bruja guilds, the Midnight empire) intertwine in an exciting, unsettling plot featuring happenings both accidental and deliberate that will forever change the alternate landscape inhabited by vampires, Tristes, shapeshifters et al. It all begins with a wrong turn and a crashed party, and from there it's an epic clash of elements and the promise of more chaos still to come. At the center of the storm is Jay, a young vampire hunter that no one would ever have predicted might be earth's best bet to thwart the rise of a vampire-controlled slave empire called Midnight. Teens will find themselves drawn to Jay, who struggles to prove his worth even while he has his own fears that those who have written him off may be right to do so.

It never hurts to throw a vampire title into the mix right?  And I'll admit that this one does sound different from others that I've read, but I'm hopeful that the elements of the paranormal genre that I like are still included, while branching outside the box enough to stand out in the greatly packed category.  Anyone else interested in this title?  What do you think?

Countdown Pick #3:  Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen(March 2013)

It's not a crime to steal a heart

Smugglers are cut-throat rascals. At least that's what Isabelle's always been told. But when she's rescued from drowning at sea by the crew of a notorious smuggling ship, her principles are thrown into confusion. Outwitting the king's men fills her with excitement, especially when she's with one mysterious smuggler in particular ...

I was lucky enough to have gotten an advanced copy of this exciting read and I can only say that it truly lived up to the excitement that surrounds it.  I have a review already written up because I honestly couldn't wait to get my thoughts on paper.  I didn't have to struggle with what to say and what to reserve judgement on.  It was a no brainer because I really did enjoy this tale and only wish that it hadn't ended without a second installment to add to the story.  While I think it could have had the potential for a great series, this stand alone was well worth the read and it was a super fun one at that!

Countdown Pick #4:  Dear Cassie by Lisa Burnstein (March 2013)

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

While we don't have a cover image for this one yet, my mind has already come up with more questions that I know what to do with.  What happened on prom night that could land our main character and narrator into this rehab camp and was she at fault or what she just in the wrong place at the wrong time?  What happens with the romance that we're teased with and how things overall will unfold has got me adding this title to the countdown and hoping we get a more concrete release date as well as a cover image really soon!

Countdown Pick #5:  Through the Skylight by Ian Baucom and Justin Gerard (03/19/2013)

Two tantalizing tales, magically intertwined, cross cultures and span centuries as three kids set out to save the lives of three others—who just happen to live in the Middle Ages!

A stone lion roars....
A sleek black cat speaks....
A faun leaps from the canvas of a painting....

When Jared, Shireen, and Miranda are each given one glittering gift from an old Venetian shopkeeper, they never fathom the powers they are now able to unleash; they never expect that their very reality is about to be utterly upended. And the adventure has hardly begun.

For in another time, centuries earlier, another trio—Rashid, Maria, and Francesca—have been thrown together under terrible circumstances: They have been kidnapped and, along with hundreds of other children, will be sold into child slavery. Unless, that is, they can find some way to save them all.

But all their fates lie in the hands of Jared, Shireen, and Miranda. The future—and the lives—of these three very modern children become entirely intertwined with those of the children from the past. Danger, it seems, has a way of spanning centuries.

This one sounds downright classic and reminds me a lot of the C.S. Lewis series that we all know and love.  If it's anything even close to that series I'm sure it will be a title I will come to cherish for years to come.  For now I'm just excited to add it to my countdown and will be picking myself up a copy come March!

In My Mailbox (61)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I
never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week?

For Review:

Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen (Thanks to Oxford University Press)

It's not a crime to steal a heart

Smugglers are cut-throat rascals. At least that's what Isabelle's always been told. But when she's rescued from drowning at sea by the crew of a notorious smuggling ship, her principles are thrown into confusion. Outwitting the king's men fills her with excitement, especially when she's with one mysterious smuggler in particular . . .






Ever by Jessa Russo (Thanks to Curiosity Quill Press)

Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

Broken by A.E. Rought (Thanks to Strange Chemistry Publishing)

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where a young couple's undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all. 

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.