The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder {Review}

The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder by Rachel McMillan

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Harvest House

Publishing Date: March 1, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.

Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city's underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.

While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto's premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever--if they can stay alive long enough to do so.

New on the Shelves {March 2016}

Most of what I added to my shelves in the month of March was from the library. Gotta love that place. Let me share those first......

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

This one was pretty adorable. Snarky, sarcastic, and ultra creative. Patrick Ness gives us the story of the 'normal' characters that live in the background

Goodreads

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

A mature MG sci fi read. Short and fast, it's worth finding a copy from the library. 

I posted my review last Thursday

Goodreads

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

EVERYBODY. This was my first EVER book club book read. And it wasn't fantastic. This style of writing, literary, dry, aloof, is just not my thing. Everyone else in the group thought much of the same about the story as well.

Goodreads

Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Gah, this cover #gorgeous. I actually haven't gotten to this one yet. Book one of the trilogy was off the charts. I listened to book two which may have affected my rating. I am nervous, albeit excited, to start this one soon!

Goodreads

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Okay, admit it friends: I got some awesome books from the library this month. This collection of short stories gives each character an 'origin' story of sorts. So nothing is exactly fresh and new, except for the very last story which is #romancegoals

Goodreads

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

This was Uppercase's March book choice. The cover is pretty swoony IRL and the synopsis sounds super awesome. I can't wait to dive in! ...though I am not sure when that will be...

Goodreads

The Gift of Friendship by Dawn Camp

I have actually received a copy of this book from the publisher already...so not sure why I got this one again. Perhaps it was a mistake? Perhaps it was part of the launch team deal? Either way, I gave this copy away to a BFF already :)

Goodreads

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

A Jane Eyre retelling? Don't mind if I do! Thanks Netgalley for the ecopy!

Goodreads

*********************************

And there you have it! I technically only added like...one physical read to my shelves? But already for April I have added quite a bunch. Oops. BUT! You'll have to stay tuned :D

See anything you'd like to add to your shelves??

Melancholy and Limerence Tour {Review}

Welcome to my tour stop for the new adult science fiction romance Limerence by Charlotte McConaghy. Limerence is the third book in The Cure Series. The first two books, Fury and Melancholy, are also featured in the tour. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Books:

Fury

When emotions are erased from the world, creating a civilization of mindless drones, only those with fury can survive.

On the same day each year Josephine Luquet wakes naked, shivering and covered in blood that is not her own. Under the cold gaze of the blood moon she is someone else entirely, but when dawn breaks her memories vanish and she is left with only an icy horror, a burning fury. Amid a sea of 'drones', she alone hasn’t been cured. 

Then she meets Luke. He isn’t like the other drones. With secrets behind his eyes, he is the only one determined to help Josephine discover the truth before the next blood moon rises.

But time is running out. Is Luke willing to risk his life to be near her? Does he truly understand what violence she is capable of?

Raw and full of passion, Fury is a story of love in a dystopian world, and how much we are willing to forgive in the struggle to remember our humanity.

Goodreads | Amazon

***

Melancholy

Here in the west they know a lot about hope. They know how to ration it just as they do with food and water.

Josephine is at last free of the blood moon. But in a desperate rush to find help for a comatose Luke, she discovers the strange and dangerous world of the resistance, and it is unlike any world Josi has known.

In the west they believe in fury – they cultivate and encourage it. The unruly people of the resistance know that to survive means to fight. But can they fight the inevitable cure for sadness that rushes steadily closer?

In the action-packed sequel to Fury, everything Josi believes about herself will be challenged. Haunted by atrocities and betrayals, she must find the strength to trust again, and decide how far she is willing to go to fight the inevitable. 

At times both brutal and sweet, Melancholy is the story of second chances and finding love in a ruined world.

Goodreads | Amazon

***

Limerence

No injection can cure love. Only life can do that.

Deep in the darkest tunnels hide the last of the resistance fighters. Hunted by the savage Furies and the ruthless Bloods, they live in constant peril. The only means of survival is to seek strength in family and find courage in love. So what happens when love is cured, scoured away, leaving death in its place?

In the final battle for freedom, there are no lines that won't be crossed. And for Josi this means becoming the creature she fears most of all: the girl with a blood moon heart.

The gripping conclusion to the dystopian trilogy The Cure, Limerence is a love story for the monsters within.

Perfect for fans of Pierce Brown, Laini Taylor and Maggie Stiefvater.

Goodreads | Amazon 

***

About the Author:

Charlotte has been writing from a young age, and has published several novels including the science-fiction series The Cure and the romantic fantasy series The Chronicles of Kaya. She studied a Masters of Screenwriting at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and is the author of the Australian Writer's Guild award-winning screenplay Fury – adapted from her novel of the same name. She lives in Sydney, writing novels and working on both film and television projects, as well as an upcoming graphic novel Skin. 

Connect with the author:

 Website | Facebook | Twitter

***

My Thoughts:

I read Fury about two years ago now. I really enjoyed it and always meant to finish the trilogy. This tour gave me that opportunity. 

Book two, Melancholy, picks up right where book one left off. Luke is in a coma from being injected with the anger cure and both he and Jose are being taken to the resistance group. I struggled to connect with the characters again after such a long break. Jose, or Dual as she comes to be called, is way more moody, and even self centered, than previously. She is stuck in her own head surrounded by her own problems. The members of the Inferno (the resistance group) don't exactly welcome her with warm, friendly arms either. 

It took me awhile to accept her bipolar attitude, but about 100 pages in the book really picks up. As Jose gets out of her own head, we get to connect to a new cast of characters and explore the intrigue and mysteries of the Inferno. There are a ton of secrets and action right at the end that had me flipping through the pages fast as I could.

"Limerence" was a bit trickier. The reader really has to pay attention to the dates and the character as they read along. Even though I picked this up immediately after 'Melancholy', jumping around the timelines really threw me for a loop. Several major things are revealed right at the beginning of the story, and then we are taken back to discover how it all happened. 

This series has plenty of action, evil government, and character development. The way both Luke and Dual change from book one to the end of book three was pretty remarkable. If you like any of those things, or a complicated love story, this series is right up your alley. McConaghy writes like a movie which makes it easy to picture everything as you read along. I think this fits perfectly as she did study screenwriting! 

I do have to note for my sensitive readers: this book contains violence (nothing I found overly graphic), language, and sexual content that I found to grow in it's graphic nature. 

GIVEAWAY:

One winner will receive digital copies of Fury, Melancholy and Limerence 

Open Worldwide

Ends March 30

Giveaway is provided by the publisher and hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Pros & Cons of ARCs

One of the first things you learn when you start book blogging is what an ARC is. ARCs are Advanced Reader Copies of books that have yet to be published. Ebook ARCs are hard to come by, but a lot more common than physical ARCs.

Obviously the biggest draw to obtaining an ARC is being able to read the book first, before the general community. But I want to look at some more pros and cons of ARCs today. Are they necessary? Could publishers do away with them potentially??

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart {Review}

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publishing Date: November 3, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in her family’s closet tear them apart?

On Thin Icing {Review}

On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander

Bakeshop Mystery #3

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publishing Date: December 29, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Welcome to Torte-a small-town family bakeshop where the treats are killer good. 

It's the dead of winter in the sleepy town of Ashland, which means no tourists-and fewer customers-for Jules Capshaw and her bakery. But when she's asked to cater an off-season retreat for the directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, business starts heating up...until Jules finds a dead body in the freezer.

Someone at the retreat has apparently iced the bartender, a well-known flirt with a legendary temper-that is, before a killer beat him to the punch. Then, from out of nowhere, Jules's own ex-husband shows up at the shop-and soon becomes a suspect. With accusations piling up higher than the snow-and thicker than a chocolate mousse cake-Jules has to think outside the (recipe) box to find the real culprit...and make sure he gets his just desserts.

If I Run {Review}

If I run by Terri Blackstock

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Zondervan

Publishing Date: February 16, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

Casey knows the truth.

But it won’t set her free.

Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they have failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.

But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up. Casey Cox doesn’t fit the profile of a killer. But are Dylan’s skewed perceptions keeping him from being objective? If she isn’t guilty, why did she run?

Unraveling her past and the evidence that condemns her will take more time than he has, but as Dylan’s damaged soul intersects with hers, he is faced with two choices. The girl who occupies his every thought is a psychopathic killer . . . or a selfless hero. And the truth could be the most deadly weapon yet. 

Spinning Starlight {Review}

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publishing Date: October 6, 2015

Goodreads Summary: 

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.

The Little Paris Bookshop {Quick Review}

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Crown

Publishing Date: June 23, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

Siren's Fury {Review}

Siren's Fury by Mary Weber

Storm Siren Trilogy #2 

Visit the author's website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: June 2, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

"I thrust my hand toward the sky as my voice begs the Elemental inside me to waken and rise. But it's no use. The curse I've spent my entire life abhorring—the thing I trained so hard to control—no longer exists."

Nym has saved Faelen only to discover that Draewulf stole everything she valued. Now he’s destroyed her Elemental storm-summoning ability as well.

When Nym sneaks off with a host of delegates to Bron, Lord Myles offers her the chance for a new kind of power and the whispered hope that it may do more than simply defeat the monster she loathes. But the secrets the Bron people have kept concealed, along with the horrors Draewulf has developed, may require more than simply harnessing a darker ability.

They may require who she is.

Set against the stark metallic backdrop of the Bron kingdom, Nym is faced with the chance to change the future.

Or was that Draewulf’s plan for her all along?

For the Love {Review}

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: August 18, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

The popular writer, blogger, and television personality reveals with humor and style how Jesus' extravagant grace is the key to dealing with life's biggest challenge: people.

The majority of our joys, struggles, thrills, and heartbreaks relate to people, beginning first with ourselves and then the people we came from, married, birthed, live by, live for, go to church with, don't like, don't understand, fear, struggle with, compare ourselves to, and judge. People are the best and worst thing about the human life.

Jen Hatmaker knows this all too well, and so she reveals how to practice kindness, grace, truthfulness, vision, and love to ourselves and those around us. By doing this, For the Love leads our generation to reimagine Jesus' grace as a way of life, and it does it in a funny yet profound manner that Christian readers will love. Along the way, Hatmaker shows readers how to reclaim their prophetic voices and become Good News again to a hurting, polarized world. 

Love Unexpected {Review}

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund 

Beacons of Hope Book #1

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Bethany House

Publishing Date: November 25, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

All she's ever wanted was a home. But stranded at Presque Isle port after their steamboat sank, Emma Chambers and her brother, Ryan, couldn't be farther away from security. While Ryan at least can find work, Emma can't even find a place to stay. An unlikely solution arises when the lighthouse keeper, who recently lost his wife and is struggling to raise his young son, arrives in town. A traveling preacher believes they might be the answer to each others' problems, and after a hasty marriage, Emma is headed back to the lighthouse with this handsome but quiet stranger.
But nothing in her wandering life has prepared her for suddenly being asked to raise a child and keep a house. Struggling at every turn, Emma also suspects Patrick may be keeping something hidden from her. In town she hears whispers about strange circumstances surrounding his previous wife's death, and it seems as though Emma's answered prayer for a home and family may actually be something much more dangerous. 

From the Start {Review}

From the Start by Melissa Tagg

Walker Family Book #1

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Bethany House

Publishing Date: April 7, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Kate Walker used to believe in true love and happily ever after. While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn't kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays...until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley. 

Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend's hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he's lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he's never really done normal before.

While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it's like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jumpstart their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn't part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that's ever happened to them?

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today! 

My Thoughts:
Before I dive into this fabulous romance, a quick PSA: I won't be blogging much this week as I prep for Armchair BEA posts and spend much of my time reading for the INSPY Awards. Instead of posting I am going to be doing a lot of drafting, editing, and hopefully some blog clean up. Hugs for you all! *End PSA*

'From the Start' is one of those fabulous books that I just adored, but never got around to blogging about :/ But don't be put off by my blogging failures, 'From the Start' is a must read romance! Yes, I DID say must read.

Why? Colton and Kate were fully formed, swoon worthy people. Tagg has created realistic characters that you can't help but root for. Both MCs have big hurts in their pasts that were a part of the story, shaped who they were, but weren't all consuming of the story. It was touching to see them falling in love and taking risks again. Tagg also allowed them individual time to heal and learn to trust again which really allowed the characters to be strong, independent people who could still fall head over heels in love.

While we are talking about some great characters, I have to mention the cast of secondary characters: Webster, the troubled teen, Megan, Amelia, Norah, and of course Rosie's (Kate's) family, the Walkers. People, this is book one in a series about the Walker family. This means we get more of this fantabulous family that is happy and supportive but not overly cutesy. The Walker family is fun, adorable, and normal feeling. Why can't there be more 'normal' families in fiction? They are usually non-existent, overly cutesy, or in a giant riff. Not so here. It was a like a breath of fresh air that I really appreciated.

Tagg gives us some great pacing. No single event leads to the climax, but instead several events lead up to the conclusion. None of them felt contrived by the author and each lent a hand to our happy ending. The romance was cute, goofy, slow, and just old fashioned fun. Clean, but swoony is what I kept thinking to myself.

Book one of the Walker series is a flat out hit. If you like contemporary romances in anyway, Melissa Tagg should be bumped up to the top of your TBR list. Pick it up, dive in, then come back and let me know what you thought. ASAP! 5 stars. 

Whenever You Come Around {Review}

Whenever You Come Around by Robin Lee Hatcher

Kings Meadow Book #3

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: May 12, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Will writing a romance help this author find a real-life hero?

Charity Anderson turned her back on Kings Meadow years ago, with good reason, and has avoided visits to her hometown whenever possible. But with her house in Boise damaged by floodwaters and a book deadline bearing down, staying in her parents’ empty home seems her only option. However, being in Kings Meadow dredges up a painful secret, and old fears threaten to overwhelm her.

Charity’s former high school classmate Buck Malone never left town, instead sacrificing his dreams to take care of his family. Now he enjoys an uncomplicated life as a wilderness guide and confirmed bachelor. The last thing on his mind is settling down.

When Charity’s dog causes an accident that leaves Buck with a broken ankle and wrist at the start of prime tourist season, Charity has little choice but to render aid while he recuperates. Soon Buck becomes the inspiration for Charity’s hero, both on the page and off. Can he also help her face and overcome her fears so they might find their own happily ever after? 

The Girl at Midnight {Review}

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Gray

The Girl at Midnight Book #1

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publishing Date: April 28, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

The Silver Witch {Review}

The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Publishing Date: April 21, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

A year after her husband’s sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat’s death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she’s near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water. 

On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew. 

In her own time, Tilda’s grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake’s ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each others, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren’s prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.

The Last Heiress {Review}

The Last Heiress by Mary Ellis

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Publishing Date: February 1, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

A Sparrow in Terezin {Review}

A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron

Visit the Author's website HERE

Book Two in Hidden Masterpiece

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: April 7, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Two women, one in the present day and one in 1942, each hope for a brighter future. But they'll both have to battle through their darkest days to reach it.

"Today. "With the grand opening of her new gallery and a fairytale wedding months away, Sera James appears to have a charmed life. But in an instant, the prospect of a devastating legal battle surrounding her fiance threatens to tear her dreams apart. Sera and William rush to marry and are thrust into a world of doubt and fear as they defend charges that could separate them for life.

"June 1942. "After surviving the Blitz bombings that left many Londoners with shattered lives, Kaja Makovsky prayed for the war to end so she could return home to Prague. But despite the horrors of war, the gifted journalist never expected to see a headline screaming the extermination of Jews in work camps. Half-Jewish with her family in danger, Kaja has no choice but to risk everything to get her family out of Prague. But with the clutches of evil all around, her escape plan crumbles into deportation, and Kaja finds herself in a new reality as the art teacher to the children of Terezin.

Bound by a story of hope and the survival of one little girl, both Sera and Kaja will fight to protect all they hold dear.

Gathering Frost Review

Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse #1)

by Kaitlyn Davis 

Release Date: 02/17/15

 Goodreads Summary:

Will his kiss be enough to revive her frozen heart?

Once Upon A Time meets La Femme Nikita in GATHERING FROST, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Jade is tasked with an unusual mission--to let the Prince capture her, to make him trust her, and then to betray his secrets to the crown. In return, she'll earn her freedom. But life outside the queen's realm is more than Jade bargained for. Under Asher's relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.