Bleeding Hearts ~ Alyxandra Harvey (eARC) review

Bleeding Hearts (Drake Chronicles #4)
Walker Children's
December 20, 2011
304 pages
add to Goodreads/buy on Amazon

Vampires from all over are descending on the Drakes because of the Blood Moon approaching, for the first time eve Lucy has been banned from the Drake household - for her own safety as Solange gets used to er new . . . existence, and Lucy's cousin Christabel is living with her

Things are definitely different around Violet Hill.

One thing hasn't changed, though. The Drakes still have their enemies.

Enemies who have realized just how much Lucy means to the family. When they attempt to kidnap Lucy and get Christabel by mistake, the entire Drake family is in pursuit . . but Connor especially.

Christabel who doesn't know about vampires and doesn't understand why  she has to stay inside after dark has found her attention to the 'nice' Drake boy. The one who offers to fix her computer.

When she's threatened by Hel-Bar, will he be quick enough to save her?


Arghh! Okay, now that I'm done screaming about the ending of Bleeding Hearts, let's get to how amazingly awesomely fantastic it was. I absolutely love the Drake Chronicles series and Bleeding Hearts just might be my favorite of all of them.

The Drake Chronicles is a fantastic series; it's one of the very few that easily brings your right back into the story and the characters' lives. With so many series, by the time a successive book is released it's near impossible to remember what's happening with the plot and/or the characters, not so with The Drake Chronicles.With this series - and this book in particular - a few well places sentences throughout the beginning bring the reader up to speed and they remember what's happening. It's great.

All the best snark, humor and romance of the earlier three books are present in this book - in spades. Not to mention it's probably the plottiest (not a word, I know, but still very fitting) of all the books in the series. Plot points from all the previous books come to a head in this the fourth book, yet it's not too heavy, either.

Christabel and Connor are near perfect as the romantic leads. Chritabel has her book geekiness and her has his Star Wars, computer, etc geekiness - they're so lovable and fit together so perfectly. It's also great that their traits aren't used as ways to single them out (in a bad way) or exclude them from everyone else. They are different from, say, Lucy or Nicholas or Solange but in Bleeding Hearts it makes them great.

New characters are introduced to this series with each new novel and I love that they're each given their own story line and background, one that expands on the central story of the series. None of the characters seem to pop up out of nowhere or distract from what'a been happening in the series thus far. Kudos to Alyxandra Harvey for continually expanding the Drake's world so well.

The ending did make me want to scream - that or have Blood Moon (the next book in the series) in my hands ready to read - but only in the best way possible.


After the ending of Bleeding Hearts there is a short story (about 50 pages), "Lost Girls," about some of the adult Drake Chronicles characters as teens. It's a glimpse into the characters and how things all started. And will likely leave you wanting a book about some of them at some point, too! (I think "Lost Girls" is in print versions only.)


If you're not reading this series yet, I can't recommend highly enough that you start - like right now and get this book on the 20th!!

Rating: 10+/10


Read thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury - ginormous thank you!!

Blood Moon ~ Alyxandra Harvey review

In honor of yesterday being Canada Day, who deserves some celebration? Justin Bieber? No. Ryan Gosling? Nope, not even him (well not here).  Joshua Jackson? Nope, not even as much as this past week makes me want to watch Dawson's Creek.

Who does then? Alyxandra Harvey, of course, author of The Drake Chronicles - the latest installment of which Blood Moon came out in June!

[ If for some kooky reason you haven't read the other Drake Chronicles book yet, don't start with Blood Moon -not because it lacks brilliance, but because they're all brilliant and don't work as stand-alone books! My reviews of #1: Hearts at Stake, #2: Blood Feud, #3: Out for Blood, #4: Bleeding Hearts ]

Blood Moon (Drake Chronicles #5)
Walker & Company
June 19, 2012
320 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from TBD/or Amazon

With the blood moon only days way and the vampire clans already converging on Drake land, Blood Moon, shows us what Bleeding Hearts only started to: with Solange fighting a war within herself, the greatest danger the Drakes face might not be from visiting vampires.


Seriously? Seriously? You're doing this to me again Alyxandra Harvey? After the ending of Bleeding Hearts, I was dying and now you're ending Blood Moon like this? Admittedly it might not be as bad . . . then again when you pair the two of them together (or all of the books/the story as a whole), it might be worse. Worse, as in really better, or Do-I-really-Have-to-Wait-for-the-Next-Book-to-Come-Out-because-You're-Killing-Me-With-These-Endings worse.

While I have loved seeing more of the different brothers in each book, it was nice to have this one brought back a bit. Blood Moon is told from Lucy, Nicholas and Solange's perspectives. Not only was it necessary for the plot (especially considering the ending of the previous book) but it was also nice to 'hear' from them again.

Lucy will always be one of my favorite characters - this series or any other - and it's great when she's balanced out with Nicholas. As the book involves Solange warring with herself, Lucy needed to be one of the narrators, not having her perspective, insight on all of it would have made the story feel less than whole.

One thing that can't go unnoticed with Blood Moon or any other Alyxandra Harvey book, is her writing. Her love of poetry comes through in not only her characters quoting it, but also her own writing. It's not flower-y and a lot of descriptions come from character observations (as opposed to author statements) but the analogies and similes, brilliant and/or quirky phrases and descriptions she does use catch me nearly every time.

They're phrases you might expect to see kept for the end of a paragraph or until a break in the text but in Blood Moon they're just part of the text. It really makes the book that much better.

A lot of series can't make it to five books while still holding - if not exceeding - the quality present in the first book. The Drake Chronicles has proven able to do that with Blood Moon. The characters are still as enjoyable, the plot is developing and thickening, the new characters that are being added add things.



Rating: 10/10


giant thank you to Bridget at Bloomsbury for my copy to review!

Blood Feud ~ Alyxandra Harvey review

Blood Feud (Drake Chronicles #2)
Walker Books for Young Readers
June 22, 2010
272 pages
Buy/info at Amazon


*(Spoilers for Hearts at Stake (Drake Chronicles #1) be here)*


Solange Drake has gone through the change and is now a vampire. Despite what an ancient prophecy said, she is not Queen, however. Her mother is going to be the new Queen. While Solange couldn't be happier about not being queen--she never wanted it in the first place, she still has to deal with the Montmarte, her very unwanted suitor.

Packages continue to be left at her doorstep and she's still in danger from the overzealous (hopeful) paramours. Blood Feud isn't about (at least not solely) Solange, though. Her brother, Logan, is the main Drake in thus book.

As all of the different vampire clans come together for the new Queen's coronation, Isabeau St Croix is sent for the Hounds, a group of mystical vampires who raise dogs and live in caves.

With Montmarte still hoping to have the crown himself, Isabeau and Logan are soon working together to keep his family safe.

It's not long before both the trouble and their feelings deepen.


In the way that Hearts at Stake was about a bigger, action-y danger but also about some romance of its central characters, Blood Feud is about a threat to really all not-entirely-evil vampires, but also about Logan and Isabeau. Isabeau's life is told through some flashbacks to her life as a human (during--quite literally--the French Revolution) and now as a vampire.

Without giving too much of the story away, I wasn't sure that Isabeau's actions and her timeline quite matched up, however. Sometimes she seemed too well transitioned for how things were said to have happened. I did enjoy the looks back at her French life, however and the Hounds were a really interesting additon to the Drake Chronicles world.

I think I have crushes on all of the Drake brothers, so the fact that I kind of love Logan (not the most, but still quite a bit) shouldn't really come as a surpise.

While this wasn't my favorite of the series, I am glad I read it and it definitely includes crucial plot points that will be a part of/start out the third book.

7.5/10

(no, half numbers are not good--but I can't decide)

A Killer First Date ~ Alyxandra Harvey mini review

A Killer First Date (Drake Chronicles #3.5)
Walker Childrens
February 14, 2012
40 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Amazon/or B&N (where it's a LendMe ebook)

**spoilers through Out for Blood, book three**

Nicholas and Lucy have known each other for most of their lives, but now that they've finally admitted their feelings for each other, Nicholas wants to take her on their official first date-away from all the life-and-death drama that has surrounded them lately. Is it too much to ask for just a fun double date at the local carnival with his older brother, Quinn, and Quinn's new girlfriend, Hunter?

'A Killer First Date' is an e-novella in the Drake Chronicles series by Alyxandra Harvey. Though published between books four and five - Bleeding Hearts and Blood Moon it takes place prior to Bleeding Hearts.

Telling the tale of both Lucy and Nicholas as well as Quinn and Hunter's first dates - which take place together, 'A Killer First Date' is an enjoyable interlude that stays true to the rest of the series. It doesn't really need to be read in between books three and four, it just fits best there plot wise.

To avoid character spoilers, it shouldn't be read earlier - but then, reading this review or the synopsis of the story would already tell you the characters are dating. I read it after Blood Moon and after that book's more heavy story line and its ending, the lighter short story, the interaction of the characters and the bit of fun was incredibly refreshing. Almost like a flashback.

When short stories are done well, as this one very much is, I love to read them as it shows just how well the author know their characters and gives me yet another peek into the lives of the characters I've grown to love.

From Hearts at Stake (aka My Love Lies Bleeding) the first book, I've been in love with the Drake Chronicles series and I'm happy to say that the short stories are just as fantastic. (Lost Girls was in the back of some editions of Blood Moon and it was brilliant as well.)

Rating: 4/5

Blood Prophecy ~ Alyxandra Harvey (earc) review

Blood Prophecy (Drake Chronicles #6)
Walker Children's
December 24, 2012 (ebooks)/January 8, 2013 (print)
496 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

Solange Drake has been crowned queen and the ancient prophecy foretelling that a daughter born tot he Drake family - known for only bearing sons - will rule, has been fulfilled. Only, it's not exactly Solange that has come to power. For some time now the young vampire's thoughts and feelings have not been entirely her own, influenced (from inside her own head) by Viola.

The change has been happening to Solange since the change that everyone was aware of, her bloodchange, on her sixteenth birthday. As Viola works to gain full control of Solange and enact her revenge, to split the vampires apart, rather than unit them as Solange wants, will anyone notice it's not really her?

With everyone gathered together for the Blood Moon, things were already testy, but with Solange (or Viola) working to tear them apart, no one is safe. Perhaps, not even Solange.


Blood Prophecy is the conclusion (at least the foll length novel-wise conclusion) to the Drake Chronicles series that started with Hearts at Stake/My Love Lies Bleeding. I was incredibly sad to see this series come to a close as I've loved it from the first book, right on through all of the others (e-novellas included). But I really can't think of a better way for it to have ended.

This last book in the series takes things back full circle with most of the story being form Lucy, Solange's perspectives just as Hearts at Stake was. It's great to see so much of their friendship come out and to see how they've dealt with everything that's been thrown at them (especially in this book and the previous one) and to have it be in the first person.

There are also chapters from, I believe, everyone who has been a narrator/central character in any of the other novels: Nicholas, Kieran, Hunter, etc.  As this book is focused more on a big picture and on ending the series, not as much a single romantic relationship the way previous books were, we get much more from all of the characters. The major relationships are already established, we know who the key characters are (and who makes them - and readers - swoony and who they're likely to punch in the nose).

In this book, we get to see both how those relationships are now and also how everyone works together against a larger foe. Yes, brilliant romances with the pretty Drake boys do make this series effortlessly fun to read, but it's the friendships, the snark, the teamwork that's always there as well that make it perfect.

Pretty boys aren't enough if you don't have a best friend (and excessive amounts of chocolate) to crush on them with and that's why I adore this series. Nicholas and Quinn and Logan are kind of fantastic, but it's Lucy's relationship, the friendship they've had since they were little girls that's withstood the fact that Solange is a vampire and now has Lucy still backing Solange even if she might be looking like she's gone evil-crazy!pants, that brings me into full in love land.

So, thank you Alyxandra Harvey for writing a series that has boys that has boys we can all have crushes on, has some violence when it's necessary (your vampires don't sparkle and I heart that), but also has strong female relationships that don't go wonky when boys are added to the mix.

And yes, my review did diverge a little bit but really, you shouldn't be reading this book yet if you haven't read the previous ones because it's a perfect conclusion. Little things mentioned in the series that could have just been, well, little things mentioned are brought back in this book and you see that they're actually relevant and part of the story. Love when that happens.

I'm sad to see this series go, but not at all sad with how it went.


Rating: 10/10




thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury for my digital galley

Out for Blood ~ Alyxandra Harvey review

Out for Blood (Drake Chronicles #3)
Walker Books for Young Readers
December 21, 2010
304 pages
Buy/info at Amazon



Alyxandra Harvey's third Drake Chronicles book, Out for Blood, focuses on different characters than the first two books in the series (as each of them did) but still utilizes characters from those books. The main characters of this book are Hunter Wild, a student at the Helios-Ra school and Quinn, one of the Drake brothers.

Hunter is friends with Kieran Black--one of the more central characters of Hearts at Stake, the first book. Hunter, a model student, is returning for her senior year at the school that trains hunters-vampire killers. It looks like it's going to be a normal year (albeit with some vampire interaction thanks to Kieran and his relationship with the Drakes). That is until things begin happening barely a few days after the students arrive.

The school year hasn't even technically started yet and already students are mysteriously ill and the school looks to be under attack.

Hunter will have to find out who she can trust (and surprisingly that just might include a vampire) in finding out what is happening.


Out for Blood is a real treat. After Hearts at Stake and Blood Feud, I'll admit that I was expecting to enjoy it, but not nearly as much as I did. It was like thinking you're getting a chocolate chip cookie--one that you'd be completely happy with--then getting a hot fudge sundae complete with whipped cream and a cherry on top. I thought I knew what I was getting and would have loved it--but was blown away with what I got instead.

I loved Blood Feud because I love the story that Alyxandra Harvey weaves and the different characters and backgrounds she works in. I loved Hearts at Stake super much because I loved the characters, the humor, the action, and the way everything worked together.

Until now Hearts at Stake was my favorite of the series but now I think Out for Blood has taken the crown. And for one reason: Harvey's writing has reached a whole new level.

The characters in Blood were as great as in Hearts (I didn't like Isabeau and Logan quite as much), the plot was great and it was really nice to see a look inside the world of the Helios-ra, but it was all so fantastic because of the quality of the writing.

Blood was so well, well written that I am now very, very much looking forward to anything (and maybe everything) from Alyxandra Harvey. The writing of this is so fantastic that I know I can enjoy any world she crates--even one without the Drakes and the Helios-Ra and the other characters that I love so much.




10/10

Thank you to Bloomsbury for this book for review.


Giveaway!!
Also, thanks to the publisher, I have one copy to giveaway to one of you lucky readers. I really loved this book so I hope you will enter--and encourage others to do so as well.

Details: Winner must have a US mailing address (no PO Boxes) and be 13 or older. Contest ends January 10, 2011 at noon Eastern.

Fill out the form below to enter--comments won't enter you but they'd be greatly appreciated :)

ENTER HERE

A Breath of Frost ~ Alyxandra Harvey (earc) review [@AlyxandraH @BWKids]

A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy #1)
Walker Children's
January 7, 2014
496 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. [. . .]

By unknowingly unlocking their magical abilities, the girls have not only opened an entire, previously unknown, world, full of magic, spells and creatures, but put themselves in danger as well.

Now they have so much more to worry about than simply  navigating parties and society as debutantes. Hiding in the library (Gretchen), looking for the most suitable dance partner (Penelope) and staying out of sight (Emma) isn't going to be the easiest way to get by any more. Not with the bodies of dead girls appearing, ones that Emma keeps finding. And dangerous warlock sisters , thought to be gone, now back and wreaking havoc.

If they can keep themselves safe, if Emma can figure out the forever hot and cold actions of Cormac, then maybe they can figure out their new-found magic . . . and the murders.


The Drake Chronicles series, Stolen Away and Haunting Violet have made it pretty clear that I love Alyxandra Harvey's storytelling but A Breath of Frost was really something else. That same spark, humor and wit that I love from her characters was definitely present once again. While it was Regency London and the plot seemed to hold true (while involving witchcraft), the characters - the female characters, especially - had that little extra something separating them from the status quo.

The girls aren't so different that they seem modern day or out of place, but they also have a bit more audacity, maybe more mettle than one might expect. It makes them and the story superb.

Emma, Penelope and Gretchen are not Lucy and Solange from Harvey's Drake Chronicles series but that strong friendship, that almost sisterly bond that was done so well in that series is present with the cousins here. It's different as they are different characters in a different setting, situation but the love, the fierceness of their will to protect each other is there. It's a bond I hope to see grow over the series.

Much of the novel focuses on Emma and her story - with her mother, with Cormac and with her magic. We learn a lot about her in this first book, some things that are easier to see coming than others. It will definitely be interesting to see how each of the things that happened, that she uncovered affects her, the other characters and the story down the road.

The glimpses we got into the other girls lives very much left me wanting to know more about them - and wondering if we'll find out even a third as many secrets as we did with Emma. (Penelope's character and what we saw with her has me especially intrigued.)

Cormac and his sisters are kind of a fantastic addition to the story. His sisters were not a big part of the story but I loved the little bits that they were in it and hope that was not all we will see of them.

As for the plot, it's kind of really great. With witches, warlocks, society, societies, madcaps, gargoyles, enchantments, and familiars all with family drama, school, possible mean girls and confusing boys, A Breath of Frost has it all. Alyxandra Harvey weaves a brilliant tale, told at a great pace that connects readers with all of the characters and the (slightly modified?) Regency London world they're living in.  You'll love not only where things end up but how it got there -- all while eagerly waiting to see where they things go next.

My review is really long already but it needs to end with this: Alyxandra Harvey's books? <3


Ratiing: 10/10


You may also enjoy: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey and Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton


digital galley received for review, via NetGalley, thanks to publisher


I think my WOW post for this has it listed as Moonlight and Madness and/or Witching Season: Stormcaster so I'm listing those just for search purposes :)

Stolen Away ~ Alyxandra Harvey (eARC) review

Stolen Away
Walker Children's
January 17, 2012
288 pages
add to Goodreads/buy on Amazon

After bringing us humor, romance, a little violence and a lot of adventure (along with some some vampires) in her Drake Chronicles series and romance, humor and a very swoon-worthy boy in the spiritualist era stand-alone Haunting Violet Alyxandra Harvey is back, this time with the fae, in Stolen Away.

Eloise is a normal seventeen-year-old, spending early days of fall with her friends, trying to escape the oppressive summer hear that won't seem to break. She is eating ice cream with her best friends Jo and Devin when a strange young man approaches her. It's his attire (easily something more out of A Knight's Tale era than today), calling her Lady Eloise while kneeling, and insisting she come with him to be safe that disconcerts Eloise. Of course, he is gorgeous, too, but that's not really of issue at the moment.

The three friends are able to get away from Lucas. But it's definitely not the only time they see him and he is definitely not their only problem. In fact, his warnings might have been right.

Eloise is stolen away by Lord Strahan and imprisoned in his Rath. She knew little to nothing about the fae beforehand but now she is their prisoner. Strahan is only meant to rule for seven years, as faery law dictates but he refuses to comply. He hopes to use Eloise to lure her, somewhat elusive and mysterious Aunt Antonia, his wife to him as she is the only thing threatening to end his reign. A continued reign that is wreaking havoc on both worlds.

Eloise knows, as everyone works to rescue her, that she is going to have to rescue her aunt - even if it means working with the fae.


Stolen Away  is another absolute stunner of a book from Alyxandra Harvey. She has taken all of her strengths from her previous novels, the humor, the romance, the action and adventure and introduced them - and readers - to an entirely new world and characters. And the fae.

Harvey has a talent for writing best friend relationships that seem so absolutely real that you, as a reader, just almost need to be their friend, too. There's closeness, humor, background, history, jokes, sometimes fights, everything in those relationships that make them honest and realistic and amazing. She writes my favorite best friend relationships in books. (Besides the friend relationships in The Drake Chronicles and in Haunting Violet, the only other best friend relationships that good are in Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series - maybe it's something with the Devon/Devin name?)

I think I really, truly adore that Alyxandra Harvey's books have characters that are sneaky and backstabbing and manipulating . . . unless they're supposed to be.

This is a story that - when it's not making you just that little bit anxious as to the outcome and sometimes even then - makes you happy to read. There are lines that make me smile, the characters interactions are sweet or snarky - or both. The way they work together is brilliant and refreshing. It's a book that will make you smile.

The only, only thing I didn't love to pieces was that I thought Jo was 'in love' a little fast with her guy. I don't think it affected the plot any (in fact, I think it actually helped it) but I just wasn't seeing where her words came from, personally.

The faery lore used is really great. While I don't read a ton of fae themed/focused books, I do read quite a few and there were several things in Stolen Away that either I hadn't heard before (or had possibly forgotten) or they were things that were rarely, rarely used. Alyxandra Harvey really draws from outside of the commonly used faery mythology in Stolen Away.

After reading Stolen Away (and Bleeding Hearts just about a month ago), Alyxandra Harvey is in my top three favorite author - if not the very top!


Rating: 9.5/10  . . . so we'll round up for tagging purposes and such ;-)



Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for my digital galley

Haunting Violet ~ Alyxandra Harvey (ARC) review

Haunting Violet

Walker Children's

June 21, 2011

352 pages

Goodreads/Amazon


Violet Willoughby has spent her life as part of her mother's fraudulent medium/spiritualist act. More skeptical than not only those who come to her mother's readings, but just about anyone else, Violet does not believe in spirits or ghosts.

Except they seem to believe in her.

A very persistent, very stubborn ghost is now making herself known to Violet. A ghost who seems to have died a violent death and won't just go away.

Violet's going to have to figure out what the ghost wants and if she can accomplish it.

That and if this new found ability is going to ruin Violet's plans of getting away from her mother once and for all through marriage. Of course, the only person who can help her is Colin, the friend she's had since childhood who works for her mother - and might pose a different sort of problem for her potential marriage.

Can Violet manage to resolve it all --and without her life falling apart?

There are not enough good things I can say about this book! Haunting Violet is the kind of book that makes me love that I have a blog because maybe just one person will read this post who wasn't planning on reading the book already and then will . . . and maybe then they'll tell someone how splendiferous it is! (Well, maybe not using that exact word.) It's just that good of a book.

Set in the 1870s, Haunting Violet is historical fiction and the historical details seem to be accurate and really add to the story's depth and the readers' enjoyment of it.

Chock full of mystery, intrigue and drama, but also the humor and kick butt heroines that Alyxandra Harvey displayed such a talent for in her Drake Chronicles series, this standalone has something (so much, really) for everyone. And while her heroine might not be one to swoon, Harvey has once again created a very swoon worthy male character in Colin (I'm more than a little bit in love with him, I think).

Alyxandra Harvey crafts such brilliant stories and (as with the Drake Chronicles books) I love the relationships between her characters so, so much that I almost hate for the book to be over - except that they all find such brilliant resolutions that I can't really hate it.

(Can't say that I would hate for this to be a series, though-or for the characters to happen to show up in another of the author's books ;-))

A magnificent mystery, love story, historical fiction tale, and ghost story to boot, I cannot recommend this one enough!

42/10 stars

Ginormous thank you to Kate at Bloomsbury for my review copy of this book

(Trailer in my right sidebar or here is a link to a longer one)

Love Me, Love Me Not ~ Alyxandra Harvey Tour Review + Guest Post + Giveaway [@chapterxchapter @AlyxandraH @entangledteen]

Love Me, Love Me Not
Entangled: Crave
February 22, 2016
200 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Amazon/B&N/iBooks/Kindle/Kobo
on Entangled Publishing

Dating isn’t easy when you’re in the middle of a blood feud.

Anastasia Vila’s family can turn into swans, but just once she’d like them to turn into responsible adults.

After hundreds of years, they still cling to the blood feud with the Renard family. No one remembers how it started in the first place—but foxes and swans just don’t get along.

Vilas can only transform into their swan shape after they have fallen in love for the first time, but between balancing schoolwork, family obligations, and the escalating blood feud, Ana’s got no time for love. The only thing keeping her sane is her best friend, Pierce Kent.

But when Pierce kisses Ana, everything changes.

Is what Pierce feels for her real, or a byproduct of her magic? Can she risk everything for her best friend? And when the family feud spirals out of control, Ana must stop the fight before it takes away everything she loves.

Including, maybe...Pierce.

This Entangled Teen Crave book contains language, violence, and lots of kissing. Warning: it might induce strong feelings of undeniable attraction for your best friend.

I was surprised when I saw that Love Me, Love Me Not is just two hundred pages. Not because it feels long (or too long) but because it felt like a full, novel length story.

Love Me, Love Me Not is a 'YA Fantasy/Fairytale retelling of The Swan Maiden with a blood feud twist like Romeo & Juliet,' which sounded like a lot of fun to me even though I know next to nothing about The Swan Maiden story. (Of course, I do need to admit that because of who the author was the description could have just been, 'It's about something," and I would have wanted to read it.)

What I ended up really loving about Love Me, Love Me Not was that there really was a nice mix of Ana's family, the swan girls and the rules and mythos about them; the 'blood feud' between the Vilas and the Renards; and Ana's hopes to fall in love.

At first, I had wanted Pierce, or whomever it was that would be Ana's potential love interest, to be part of the Renard family. I am so, so happy that was not the case. The animosity between the Vila family and the Renard family is serious - it's bloody and death filled and spiteful. And it makes the story better.

Especially next to how fed up with it Ana can be.

I liked that the girls had to fall in love before they could turn into swans. Through the different members of Ana's family - and even Ana herself - we see the myriad of ways how falling in love, not falling in love and all of the missteps, attempts and confusion impact a life.

I loved Ana's character and her desire to just finish high school, but to still be loyal to her family and honor them and her magic . . . even if they are difficult and frustrating and troublesome.

I also really loved Pierce - him giving his dog a 'why' for something would have been enough but add in his honesty, his crazy grandmother, his concern for his brothers, his love of books, how he felt about Ana and how he dealt with it and he's brilliant.

Love Me, Love Me Not is a fun fantasy tale of friendship, love, identity, family (both the good and the bad), oh, and that blood feud. All of the characters are fantastic and are characters whose stories I would gladly read.





About the Author:

Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long as they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream. Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with her husband and their dogs. She likes cinnamon lattes, tattoos and books.

Website

Guest Post: 

Book Sp(l)ot: You have created some brilliant friendships in your novels, is there a character () that you would most want as a friend?'

Alyxandra Harvey: I would love to hang out with Ana from Love Me, Love Me Not because she’s so grounded and wry. And she could clear the rainclouds away—but just over my head. I love rain, I’m just very cat-like in my dislike of getting drenched.

I’d also like to hang out with Lucy from The Drake Chronicles because she’s so irreverent and irrepressible. Also, she’s always around the very yummy Drake brothers.

She’s a magnet for trouble though, so I might need to bring some muscle with me. ;)

From the literary world at large, I’d love to make friends with Anne of Green Gables for her humour and courage. I’ve been to Green Gables in P.E.I. and it was just so lovely. The red clay and the sea and the farmhouse all tucked away.

And I already consider Elizabeth Bennet my BFF. Possibly, it’s a problem. : p

Also: Luna Lovegood because she’s quirky and rooted and Hogwarts! Ravenclaw Common Room! Hogsmeade!

Add some cake and we have a pretty good party I think!

Thank you! Those are some great characters individually but now I love the idea of them together so much more.

Tour Schedule

Giveaway:

$200 Amazon Gift Card + Feather Pendant Necklace inspired by the one that Ana, from Love Me, Love Me Not wears

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Top Ten Tuesday [Auto-Buy Authors]

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

Top Ten Of Your Auto-Buy Authors

I didn't actually come up with ten but I did decide to split it between YA and adult. There's a link to each author's Goodreads Author Page and to any posts and/or reviews I've done.

The book covers of books I've read by each author don't link, sorry!

Three are a few authors that almost made it to the list but I need to read just one more book by them to be sure.

YA Authors:

Alyxandra Harvey

Posts/Reviews

Books Read:
The Lovegrove Legacy:

The Drake Chronicles:

Standalones:

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Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posts/Reviews
Books Read:

Raised by Wolves:

The Naturals:

The Fixer:

Standalone:

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Ryan Graudin

Posts/Reviews
Books Read:

All that Glows:

Standalone:

Reading Soon(!):

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Adult Authors:

Lisa Gardner

Posts/Reviews

Books Read

Tessa Leone:

DD Warren:

(and The Survivors Club - almost forgot that one!)

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JT Ellison

Posts/Reviews
Books Read:
Taylor Jackson:

Samantha Owens, ME

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Heather Gudenkauf

Posts/Reviews

Books Read

Please leave a comment and let me know your auto-buy authors! (And, let me know if you've read any of the books by the authors in this post - and what you thought!)