Review: Love Always, Kate (Love Always #1) by D. Nicole King

Title: Love Always, Kate (Love Always #1)
Author: D. Nicole King
Source: Contest Win
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Dear Diary, 
Leukemia’s been my life since I was eleven. Now, six years later, I want my life back. Only I’m not sure what that is.

The test results came back today. 22,000. Which means I’m officially out of remission—again.

I have three options:
1. Another round of chemo.
2. A super-new experimental drug.
3. Dump it all— forget the meds and treatments and enjoy the time I have left.

I think I know what I want.

Then, in walks Damian, changing everything.

I mean, everything. 

He’s got his own set of issues. It binds us together, you know? We understand what it’s like to lose what matters most in seconds. 

Still, the last thing I need is to have someone else to crush if I can’t fight hard enough. And the last thing he needs is someone else to grieve.

Never mind. I’m down to two options now.

Somehow I know that whichever one I choose, the result will be the same. With the sand in my hourglass seeping to the bottom, I hope there’s enough left to show Damian that life’s worth living. Worth fighting for.

Worth dying for.

Love Always,
Kate

Ger ready for an emotional ride with this one.  I started tearing up about half way through and by the end I had tears running down my face and could hardly read the pages through them.  It's hard to talk about this one - it's going to hit everyone a little differently and some more personally than others.

Kate has leukemia - she's come out of remission again for the second time so she gets geared up to do her third round of chemo treatments.  I had always heard that these really sucked, but watching how they destroyed her system was really an eye opener.  Somehow she manages to remain mostly positive (more that I would be able to in her situation) and keep fighting.  Part of her motivation is Damian.  At first she thinks she needs him, but then she realizes how much he needs her.  Now she has to live and keep fighting - or it will destroy him completely.

There is a very sweet love story mixed in here, but I shy away from calling it a romance.  It's far more than that.  To say Damian is struggling is a massive understatement.  And some of the things he puts Kate through and does to himself are awful - it will offend some, but what I saw was a hurt young man trying anything and everything to find a way to make it go away.

Kate and Damian have a very special bond by the halfway point of the book.  A bond that you don't want to see broken by anything.  This is when I started tearing up - things take a turn - for the worse, and Kate is forced to make a very tough decision.  I won't tell you more or I would completely ruin everything.  The best part of this book is its capability to really make you feel.

So sit back, get some comfort food and a box of tissues.  You'll need them for this ride, and it will be one you never forget.

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Review: When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears by Kersten Hamilton

Title: When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears (Goblin Wars #3)
Author: Kersten Hamilton
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Release Date: August 16, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

“People will die.”

Locked doors are opening, and uncanny creatures are tumbling through mysterious portals from Mag Mell, the world-between-worlds, into the streets of Chicago. The Dark Man has marked Aiden with a new song that’s scared him badly, and a frightening new group of sídhe is lurking nearby.

Teagan knows this is war, and she must protect her family. She leaves her flesh and bones behind to join Finn in hunting the evil beings across the city. Meanwhile, their relationship is heating up—almost faster than they can control. But he is still bound to fight goblins his entire life . . . and by blood she is one of them now.

Then the gateway to Mag Mell cracks open again, and the Wylltsons find themselves caught in a trap. As her loved ones begin to die, Teagan realizes that she must destroy the Dark Man and his minions once and for all in order to save those who remain . . .

. . . before it is too late.

People are starting to die as all the baddies from Mag Mell begin to show up in Chicago.  Teagan and Aiden continue to be targed by the sidhe and their lives are always in danger.  They need to rely on their new friends and allies that they made in book two to help heal Mag Mell and banish the darkness from its' world forever.  The lore and mythology are amazing so lifelike - they really help to make this story as wonderful as it is.

There was so much action in the final book of the trilogy.  It was non-stop and almost impossible to put the book down.  Teagan's empathy and care for the creatures around her has made it hard to tell who is still a bad guy and who might just be on the right side now.  While there is a lot of sadness and death in this one, there is also a lot of light and rejuvenation.  None of the character are the same at the end of the book - all have changed for the better and moved on to become what their destiny meant for them to be.  This has been one the best ends to a series I've ever seen.

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