Books Reviewed in August, 2012

25 Reviews

Shift (The Protector #2) by M. R. Merrick [Spoiler Free]

I really liked this book. It was a great follow up to Exiled. I love that there are so many creatures that the main character interacts with so you are kept up to date with all kinds of politics and silly antics. I am really looking forward to reading the next one!

Read in August, 2012
Books I have.

Gravity (The Eclipse #1) by M. Leighton [Spoiler Alert]

Ah this book irked me in so many ways.
Firstly, this is supposedly about 18 year olds...you couldn't tell. Their maturity level was more like 13...maybe. And that annoyed me. If M. Leighton wanted this to be for that young of crowd, then perhaps the ages of the characters should have reflected that. Or, their maturity level should have reflected them being 18.
Secondly, Brady had such a major issue with his friend hitting on his sister but was totally okay to hit on, and go further with, his sister's friend....Worse, Peyton never acknowledged his contradictions. That really pissed me off. They are siblings, there is no way in hell that she would have been okay with him acting like that. I know she eventually grew a back bone...but that was so lame. I think there could have been a better way to make Trace hard to get.
Thirdly, what straight 18 year old guy says "ohmigod?" seriously? Ever? I could only see it happening in jest...when I read that, I stopped seeing them as male characters. They instantly grew a vagina. 
Fourthly, the majority of this book was based on a horrible romance set up to bore you to tears.
Fifthly, how many times was it drilled into your head that this plot was based on two fallen angels/gods having some fun and the true God intervening? I wanted to pull out my hair with the amount of times information was repeated. This book was short...I didn't need reminding. 

The romance was boring. The snippy random appearances of Amity was ridiculous. I don't know why she played a part really, she was not important. She didn't interfere with Trace and Peyton's relationship and I don't see why her dream walking was relevant, other than to find out what really happened with Trace's dad, which you find out from Peyton's aunt anyway...so yeah, unnecessary. If her abilities do not help out in the next book, I will be disgusted. I don't like pop up, throw away characters that are filler and serve no purpose in a story. The other thing that bothered me was the over usage of "big" words where they needn't be. Not that they didn't fit there, just that it was overkill. I have no problem with an extensive vocabulary, but it really just came across as "Look at me! I can use big words! See! I use one here...and there...and there..." I mean, I think it is awesome to use words that are not commonly used in stories; it's great for readers to have a variety of language, but throwing them around willy nilly like in this book...just kills the experience for me. It took away from the story rather than adding to it.
Ah, and the first part of the book where like 3 pages were dedicated to how wonderful and awesome Peyton's brother was. I was starting to think that he was going to be the love interest in this book after all. 
Peyton better grow a back bone in the next book or she is going to be chewed up, spat out, and left high and dry. I'd expect nothing less.

Read from August 01 to 03, 2012
Books I have.

After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel [Spoiler Alert]

Lots of laughs in this book. I have to say that was probably what I liked the best about this book. Carrie has a great sense of humour. Had me laughing with every chapter. I wasn't very fond of Aimee's personality. She was quite the peach. And I don't mean that as a compliment. I found her very annoying, mousy, and just weak. The only thing she really stood up about was veggie burgers--yuck.
I have a hard time with Native American religions, mainly because I just don't know enough about them. But I found this easy to read and follow.
My complaint is that the book wasn't very exciting. It at least stuck to the plot. There weren't any surprises...I like surprises. There wasn't any suspense...unless you count Alan "dying"...but even then there wasn't any real concern about it. And then the fight with the River Man wasn't very epic. It should have been epic. And there should have been some explanation there. I didn't like that the explanation was pretty much that the Indians didn't bother with reasons for things. Even if that is the case...I think a back story on on the River Man would have helped this book a lot.
The humour saved the book for me, because at the very least it did make me laugh

Read from August 03 to 04, 2012
Books I have.

Enchant Me by Anne Violet [Spoiler Alert]

Horrible.
I am so sick of the male love interest being referred to as "beautiful". Yuck. A man should not be beautiful unless he is feminine. And who wants a feminine male unless you're a gay male? Not interested in beautiful men...I want a MAN. Just saying. But anyway how many times was Christian referred to as beautiful or perfect in this book? Too damn many. It really started to make me hate him as much as I hated Alexis. 
She was a terrible character. She thought she was independent but she relied on having a possessive and dominant male...uh...such a hard ass. Not. Then she's all in her friend's business and gets mad if they interfere with hers? Such a wonderful friend she is. Very bossy and way too full of herself. I didn't like her at all. 
What was this story really about exactly? Because most of it was about her drooling over Christian but never actually going anywhere with him. Then they backtrack for no good reason... Have to say I lost any respect I had for Alexis when she started using other guys and discarding them "ruthlessly" when she was done with her slut show. Such a catch!
Enough with the "electric shock connection" already! Cliche anyone? I swear that's in every single book I read. And I wonder where this started because it makes no freaking sense. And it just serves as annoyance to me. Come up with something original.
Uhm...why was Nicolas so hell bent on Alexis? I really want to know. There was nothing about her that made me think she was worthy of being stalked. I suppose the story could have been decent if there was a better background and oh I don't know, if it stayed on task a bit more. Even the ending was all over the place and it didn't really pertain to anything worthwhile. It was just extra random stuff that meant nothing.
All in all...this book was all over the place, and the story itself wasn't enough to save it.

Read from August 04 to 05, 2012
Books I have.

Glimmer (Nina Decker #1) by Vivi Anna [Spoiler Free]

It was a good quick read. Lots of laughs in there. I liked that it was to the point for the most part. Very short though. It was set up well for the next one.

Read on August 06, 2012
Books I have.

Beautiful Beings (Beautiful Beings #1) by Kailin Gow [Spoiler Alert]

This fooled me in the beginning. It started off awesome! I was like YEAH! A good book....then what happened? It's almost like this was the rough draft of a book....You know...before all the details get added. It could have been so much better.
The "battles" with the demons were a joke. The whole drama with Shayne was a joke.
Now, I was under the impression that Lux was supposed to be some kind of holy girl or something...I mean she should have at least been a decent person if she was being visited by angels and sent on missions to destroy demons. But she was acting more like a demon with her whole kiss three boys while she was supposed to be seeing one of them. I was annoyed that none of these boys were bothered by that. Especially Braxton. What self respecting person would be okay with her acting like it's not a big deal that she is off kissing other guys while she is leading him on? Stupid.
I will not read anymore into this series. After reading books that rock my world in this genre, I am surprised this one was even published...(Sorry, I know that is kind of rude...)

Read from August 05 to 06, 2012
Books I have.

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass [Spoiler Free]

I could not put this book down. It was really good. The ending was kind of sudden and not really that great which is why I did not give it five stars. But the structure of the book was really good. It wasn't confusing. Very straight forward and easy to follow. I was completely intrigued. I loved Kiera's writing style. I even liked America. I have found that a lot of the books I have read recently that I have not liked the main character. But America is very sweet. She has a good head on her shoulders. I adored the way she goes about achieving what she believes in. Even with her confusion she is not intentionally malicious. Although, I do see problems for her in the next book. I even like Prince Maxon. It's a hard decision for me to choose between him and Aspen. Aspen thought he was doing something noble and you do have to respect him for it. I am looking forward to the second book.

Read from August 06 to 07, 2012
Books I have.

Arena by Karen Hancock [Spoiler Alert]

I totally got the whole religious aspect of this book as I was reading it. Clever way to do it. I must say it was interesting. I liked the premise but the explanation behind it all was not adequate for me. It was also drug out too much in a lot of areas of the book for my liking. Descriptions got a little carried away at times that made me really want to skip ahead, as I was getting bored. But overall it was a cute story. Though I understand why Meg had to die rather than go through the portal, since she went through things that she may not have wanted to remember, I think she should have been able to recall her time in the Arena. Since she was the one that got Callie into it in the first place. I think it wasn't very nice that Callie was left with no one to talk to about that ordeal for a year. I liked that she had to find Pierce afterward and that he didn't remember her. Nice twist to the happily ever after. Unfortunately there were no surprises in the plot with this book. You knew the whole way through it, pretty much, where things were going. And for how long it was, a few twists and turns really would have done this book good. Again, it wasn't a bad read. And ultimately I did enjoy the book. I was happy with the ending also, which is not something I can always say.

Read from August 07 to 08, 2012
Books I have.

Chime by Franny Billingsley [Spoiler Alert]

This book was an interesting read. I wasn't too fond of it but at the same time I had to finish it. I must say the only thing that actually surprised me in this book was that the Stepmother was the one screaming her name from the grave and that Eldric lost his hand. The rest of it wasn't lost to me before it became known. Franny made it a little bit too obvious that Briony was a Chime Child...What with the name of the book and all and then with Rose.
It was also pretty obvious to me that Rose was autistic or something along the lines of that with her aversion to new people and not wanting to be touched. Oh and the screaming. Rose was actually my favourite character. I found her hilarious.
The idea behind this story wasn't bad. And there was some good humour in there at times. Eldric was rather immature for being twenty-two though. Every time I read "boy-man" I cracked up.
The language in this book annoyed me at times because it was akin to baby talk to me. And yeah, I wasn't a fan. Over all I liked the book...but just barely. I couldn't wait to finish it. It was rather dragged out I felt. Especially the ending.

Read from August 09 to 10, 2012
Books I have.

Dark Kiss of the Reaper by Kristen Painter [Spoiler Alert]

This book had mixed reviews. And well, it was okay. 
I didn't see the whole point behind this book other than the Fates were bitches. It was way too feminist for me. It started off man hating...and it pretty much ended man hating, too. Not an attractive package in my eyes. 
Another book where the woman thinks she is independent and ends up with a very alpha-like male; completely dominant...yet sensitive which doesn't really add up. How lovely--or rather annoying.
I did not like Sara. She was rather materialistic and a tease. Completely at ease knowing she had the power in the relationship when it came to sexual conduct, but had no qualms torturing Azrael. How empowering...not. She practically referred to herself as a prostitute at one point--yet again, she was content with this. Wonderful.
Azrael really didn't do himself justice in this book. He was rather a pansy compared to how I would imagine an Angel of Death being. And for his lack of having patience, he sure let Sara play a ton of games. It was rather unbecoming. 
I have to say, I was rather aware that he was not responsible for Sara's cancer. She was having headaches before she even met him. So that wasn't a surprise to me at all. Nothing in this book surprised me...except for the lack of manliness Azrael exhibited. Oh, and that it was a clean romance. For all the foreplay like descriptions, I was surprised there. Some would find that to be another ding. But I don't mind that. There are only so many times I can handle reading the word 'Vagina' replaced with the word 'Sex' instead, without wanting to break my windows. But yes, this book was nothing special. But it wasn't the worst book I have ever read either. So two stars it gets.

Read from August 10 to 11, 2012
Books I have.

Haven (The Willows #1) by Hope Collier [Spoiler Alert]

Okay this started out okay to begin with. I was enjoying the writing style and then all hell broke loose around page 18 onward and never calmed down enough to make sense...and I gave up somewhere around 116 or something.

One of the first things that caught my attention was when Gabe told Ashton that he said humans couldn't know about them...but I couldn't recall him ever saying such a thing...o.O Mysterious vanishing dialogue. How charming. I thought there was something wrong with my ebook.

Then there goes Ashton talking about how she was having changes with her body (which you will recall after her first night at the hotel, I believe) and a new desire for water...which was never mentioned, and had plenty of opportunities to have been brought up as being a new craving for her.

Ah, and infidelity is never appealing to me. Just because Hope made Kevin out to be abusive does not excuse Ashton for her behaviour.

So did anyone else catch that Ashton maxed out two credit cards on clothes and luggage, then tipped $100.00 plus what her meal should have cost at the diner, but never bothered to buy herself a new phone after she supposedly lost hers in her car? Hmmm. That was rather out of Ashton's character. And it didn't sit well with me as an excuse not to be in touch with Kevin and Harry.

I just loved how convenient it was that Ashton started pretty much all of her changes while Gabe was explaining things...not. Come on, there really could have been some creativity there.

"The search for my identity, my desire to be a better person, and all the things I longed to find or become had begun falling into place."--As she is cheating on Kevin and still hasn't bothered to let Gabe know about him either. What an amazing person!

What was the reason behind the need to declare love between Ashton and Gabe so early on in their acquaintance? Ashton hadn't even broached the subject of Kevin, yet, she's so sure she is in love with Gabe? Uh huh...Not to mention she keeps bringing up how stressed out she is. Why is she not questioning this absurd "connection" after only what...3/4 days?

I gotta say, I do like that Gabe has been the one to play hard to get. Usually it is the women in these scenarios that are being the teases. So I am happy that it is Gabe who keeps hitting the brakes.

Ashton knows Gabe "inside and out" after a week...wow. That is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Gabe states that Ashton isn't bitter or resentful after learning of her inhumanity and after living the way she has. He says that is what he admires most about her. I have yet to see evidence that leads to his findings. In fact, from everything I have read, it has all lead me to the contrary. Ashton is an idiot. I was waiting for her to do the sensible thing and get elaboration on the "binding". Ah...but sensible, she is not.

After having the opportunity to broach the subject of Kevin and chickening out, I have officially lost any remaining respect and all sympathy I had for Ashton. She has become one of the most hated main characters I have ever read about. She absolutely ruins this book.

Ah, so noble is Ashton to have to confront Kevin face to face, but she is content to cheat on him behind his back. Bravo. Did I mention that I hate her?

So, Harry is nymph-napped by Leith and Ashton is being cute by wanting to go otherwise she will "lose" Gabe. Uh, what the hell is going on here? I'm sorry. I follow that for what ever reason, Harry was kidnapped instead of them storming the house, occupied by three...that's right, three...people. But why does that mean Ashton HAS to go anywhere? She hasn't learned jack about what she is or what she may or may not be capable of. And what does it have to do with Gabe at all? Uhm, nothing. Other than trying to look good for Ashton. No, I was not impressed.

I am still waiting on an explanation for why Gabe was where he was when he and Ashton paired up. Clearly he was there for a reason...where is this reason? I am growing more and more agitated about this as the story progresses.

"I could see the logic working on him but still he fought it"...What logic are we talking about here? Because from my perspective there hasn't been an ounce of logic for quite a while, if at all from Ashton.

"And finally, a tiny shred of uncertain hope of what might happen if we worked together." Yeah I am done. This is horrible. I cannot read any further. My brain just cannot handle the torture.

The scenic descriptions were phenomenal and not over done either. I think that was the only compliment I managed to come up with sadly.

I think it goes without saying that I will not be reading any other books in this series.

Read in August, 2012
Books I have.

Pure (Pure #1) by Juliana Baggot [Spoiler Alert]

I absolutely loved this book. It took me longer to read this book than normal, but that wasn't the book's fault. I have just been busy. 
Julianna has a very talented way with words! This book just blew me away. I am curious as to how all of these characters will play their roles in the next book. El Capitan was the most unusual character angle to me. I wasn't quite sure where he fit into this and I still don't quite see how he is important. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that the militia respect him and will more than likely follow his orders. But that doesn't scream out to me that he should be a documented angle in the book. So I am wanting to see how he shines in the sequel. 
The only real problem I had with this book was how the whole conspiracy angle came out. I mean Bradwell just pieced it all together from nothing. And that annoyed me. Any and all 16 year olds were targeted by the militia and taken, not just Pressia. So how did that scream "RED FLAG"? And then for Partridge to have a picture of and memorized a map hanging on the wall...and he just puts that together with out any real indication that he should. And I understand that Bradwell was really paranoid and on a major conspiracy kick already, but still there wasn't enough for him to grasp that. I mean there was enough for the reader...but not for Bradwell in his role for the book. And that irritated me. Although, I must say that the whole conspiracy itself was set up beautifully. 
The ending....that was wonderful. It really got me going "what are in those little black boxes!" And now I really have to know. But how it was written from each character's angle like that, was beautiful. I really, really loved this book.

Read from August 14 to 17, 2012
Books I have.

The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies #3) by Pittacus Lore [Spoiler Alert]

I love these books. They are just so much fun to read. I am in love with Number Nine! I like that he does not pussy foot around anything, and he puts Four in his place. If only Four would listen. He is such an idiot.
I totally hate Sarah. And I don't know why she made an appearance in this book. She should have just been left high and dry in the last book. She really is not important to the series. And I think Four should be with Six, just saying! But since I like Number Nine, maybe she is better suited for someone who is not as naive and lame as Four.
A little ticked off with the battle with the Mog leader...why didn't he just annihilate while he had the chance? Not good for the story line...got it. But that was quite a cheap ending to this book and it doesn't sit well with me..hence no five stars! But I am looking forward to the next one.

Read on August 19, 2012
Books I have.

Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout [Spoiler Alert]

Real rating would be 4.5. The reason for only 4.5 is because I hated Kat in this book. She absolutely sucked.

The cover for this book was really pretty. But I thought Kat was supposed to have big boobs...? And I thought Daemon was supposed to be really tall. Doesn't match the character descriptions...eh I am just being picky.

At almost, and then 18, most girls do not go out of their way to cover their dress-clad boobs. Especially when trying to make another guy jealous. I wasn't aware of Kat being a nun...considering in the last book she had no qualms getting half naked with Daemon during their first kiss. In this book she acts more like a 14 year old. Really annoying.

I like that Daemon calls Kat out on her bullshit but I am at a loss for why he bothers with her games.

Uh...did anyone else notice that Daemon dropped his hand from Kat's arm twice during their argument after the party without putting his hand back on her arm?...There I go again, being picky.

Oh I am so happy that Daemon let Kat have it! She deserved every word and more. And it is about time one of these books had this happen! Kat didn't deserve her anger at what he said. She knew what she was playing at when she was using Blake to get to him.

I have to say I really wanted to know what Daemon wrote on that note. That was just cruel.

Chapter 31--especially the end of it. This book has redeemed itself. I was getting really annoyed with Kat--but no there were consequences to her horrible decisions and I am ecstatic about that! That is one of my pet peeves in this genre but Jennifer, you made my day!

Hmmm, I didn't like the ending because now I have to wait! But I will be reading the next one.

I read this book in one sitting, I didn't go to sleep until 5:30am...I just HAD to finish it!

Read from August 18 to 19, 2012
Books I have.

Dark Veil (Belonging #1) by S.L. Naeole [Spoiler Alert]

Oh wow....

Okay, so at first I didn't think I was going to like this book too much, with it being about werecats and all. I thought...ah lame. I'm not a big werecat lover...seems too girly.

But yeah...I was wrong. This book was awesome! I loved Fallon! She was badass. It is so nice to actually like the main character for a change. She didn't get all stupid and run around with her head cut off like some fluttering chicken. Fallon actually stood up to face her own battles. She held her own. And she had so much spunk, I really loved her.

But I must say, what kind of parents--adoptive or not--take their child, knowingly, to a dangerous place to live? Especially when they know said child would be on the menu for the people that live there. And then they get upset with her for being upset about the move. They put the poor girl in a shitty situation, where there's nothing to eat but fish which she isn't fond of, and with people who do not accept her. After she lets them know what kind of position she in, they are not even understanding? I didn't like that. It didn't seem natural for a parent.

I totally loved the scene with Liam and Fallen right up until he kissed her. What a memorable first kiss. Fucking awesome. Ah, and she didn't slap him, oh no, she punched his ass! Love it.

I even liked Liam, for as much of an asshole as he was, he was a fun point of view to read from.

This book was written REALLY well! I loved all the gems in here. Very thoughtful, and wise with some of the thoughts. I was very sympathetic to Audrey, but blown away by her personality too. I found myself attached to a lot of the characters in this book and really want to get to know them more.
Another thing that impressed me was that Fallon never actually found out about the secret in this book. So there was no stupid crazy lust after a crazy animal. It really sets it up for some interesting drama to come and I am hooked!

Read from August 19 to 20, 2012

Shadows (The Rephaim #1) by Paula Weston [Spoiler Alert]

This book irked me and made me laugh...and ended up being an okay book.

I wasn't too fond with the lack of reaction or emotion from Gaby when she was being held prisoner and tortured. There wasn't enough rage or terror from her. There wasn't really anything. I would have expected her to be furious and screeching at the top of her lungs or being a lot more uncooperative than she was.

I was also annoyed with the fact that when the two Demons came into play, all of a sudden she knows their names, without them having being formally introduced. Minor...but irritating.

Then with Nathaniel telling her that he was going to have his little soldiers shadow her and she didn't have a say, and he was letting her stay where she wanted "for now"...Eh she didn't seem too irritated with that either.

I did like the unique story line. Wasn't too keen on her friend being taken hostage though...rather lame. But the idea behind what's going on with the Fallen and what's going on with Gabe and Jude is interesting enough to get me to read the next book.

Read from August 20 to 21, 2012
Books I Have.

Silver Moon (Silver Moon #1) by Rebecca A. Rogers [Spoiler Alert]

This book was terrible.

The plot was all over the place and not once did it actually make any sense. I am uninterested with what is going on with any of them. It made it seem like there were going to be these huge revelations--only there never was. I was expecting something crazy to be going on with Blake and Jana...only there wasn't.  I was aware they were werewolves from the moment they were introduced...why was there a need to drag that out?

Why was the explanation left to Candra's aunt and uncle? Why couldn't her parents tell her before ditching her...and why the hell was it kept from her in the first place? What kind of parents just drop their kids off? This was stupid beyond comprehension.

Werewolves with abilities that are kept in trinkets? Uh...why? How easy is it to freaking take a necklace from someone's neck? Honestly. I was rather surprised her attackers didn't just do that while they were fucking with her. Very poorly thought out. And the reason behind the tension in the first place was inadequate. The Conways want to own the town...yes let's kill them all to get our way. Ridiculous.

For a werewolf book it really didn't have many werewolf scenes. I got really bored. 

Candra was a horrible character. She tried to be all tough with her snarky attitude but when it came down to it, she was a freaking wimp. But she didn't listen to anyone, as I suppose she was the notorious teenage know it all, but even when there were obvious signs, she did completely stupid things. Her reasons for doing said stupid things weren't convincing. I'm convinced she's just retarded. She gets all melodramatic over a person she barely knows and had two dates with, not wanting to continue to see her. Pathetic.

"I don't need to play the damsel in distress. As a matter of fact, I despise girls who do."....Uh..? The entire book she was the freaking damsel in distress.

"I was born an idiot"...No truer words were spoken.

I am so sick of moronic characters...why is this a fad? It is unbecoming of females everywhere! 

The romance between Ben and Candra was awkward and dull. The whole book was dull really. There was no real excitement. Nothing was really cleared up in a decipherable way, either. I am still confused as to what is really going on here, and why Candra is important enough to be a main character. I won't be reading the sequels.

Read on August 22, 2012
Books I Have.

iFeel (Vis Vires #1) by Marissa Carmel [Spoiler Free]

1.5 stars. And that's being generous.

I was not impressed with all the fashion drops... Yeah, lame.

The dialogue was awkward and did not flow with what was going on around them either...it was all kinds of wtf.

And really, who would just wander off with a stranger and do anything he asks--regardless of how handsome he is--especially if you're being treated like a freaking stupid leper. (I guess she was rather stupid.)

"An ear pleasing voice".....NO! Not another annoying repetitive phrase...I don't want more stupid shit running through my brain on repeat. Just...why?

The romance is horribly boring. 

I also noticed a lot of odd word placement. A lot of sentences didn't make sense. And I think I might just avoid this publisher in the future. Where was the editor for this book?--apparently this was republished since the copy I own, maybe if you're picking up a new copy, it will have better editing.

I never thought I would find a book that used such an abundance of metaphors that I would actually start to get annoyed...and this book isn't very long...

Liv is gutless. She has no control over anything and she clearly has no desire to. She wants everyone else to do it for her. I dislike her more with every page.

Relying on someone to make you want to live is not romantic; it's deplorable.

This book also had a thing for leaving out the action--which is a shame because everything else was just a bore. The romance never got better either. It annoys me greatly.

What was this nonsense about a boyfriend being a label? If you're in an exclusive relationship then he is a boyfriend.

Whose lips taste like cake batter? Though I suppose that is better than "sunshine"...

I kept waiting for Liv to mature....but I guess I held my breath for nothing. 

Anywho. The plot was horrible. The writing was terrible. The dialogue was worthless...and I hated all of the characters. It tried to redeem itself about halfway through...and then it went back to crap. But because I have read much worse...it gets that half star.

Read from August 21 to 22, 2012
Books I Have.

Sweet Blood of Mine (Overworld Chronicles #1) by John Corwin [Spoiler Free]

Okay...I liked this book a lot. Up until the last act. Then I didn't like it anymore.

I loved Justin! Just loved his personality for the most part. He was a little bit of a sap but he was hilarious. I just adored him.
I like that he was able to make fun of himself without sounding overly sorry for himself. It makes it easier to sympathize with him without hating him.

I found the love debacle in this book to be absolutely hilarious.

Now enters Harry and then everything kind of falls apart from here on out. The dialogue gets awkward and the feel for what is going on is all kinds of interrupted. The pace changes and makes no sense....and the characters intentions are lost to the wind. It completely destroyed it for me.

The humour in this book was fantastic though. Had me rolling the entire time, even while the plot got screwy and pissed me off. I will probably read the next one because it was so funny.

Read in August, 2012
Books I Have.

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu [Spoiler Alert]

I hate June with a passion. I don't care that she is ignorant to everything around her. For how smart and perceptive she is, she has no excuse. She was not able to redeem herself. I disliked that she got her "eye for an eye" but still felt happy with herself to threaten torture on Day's loved ones after the fact. She disgusts me. I was hoping he'd kill her, but I knew he wouldn't. I liked how she was repulsed by Thomas for having blood on his hands, but didn't see herself in the same category for all she had done.

"Does that make me the same as Thomas?" No, it makes you worse.

If I had any respect for June, I wouldn't now that she couldn't even grow some big girl panties to tell Day about John...but no, she let him find out for himself through the screens. What a coward.

I had an issue with Day not having an issue with June for all the shit she put him through. He wonders why he's yelling at her? Really? She is the reason he was in the situation he was in to begin with. I liked him as a Robin Hood, but everything that went down with June seemed way out of character for his initial character development.

The other issue I had was that June was 15 years old and was put into such a high ranking position. I don't care what crazy world you live in, you know that wouldn't happen. It was unrealistic that she would be the one to interrogate him, and it was also unrealistic that she'd do enough damage pistol whipping someone. 
The premise was fine. Even interesting. But the overall method of completion just wasn't what I was looking for. I ended up more annoyed than anything. There was a lot of clever antics in there. And I do think it would have been better if the characters were more thought out and actually acted according to their buildup.

Read from August 25 to 26, 2012
Books I have.

Rippler (Ripple #1) by Cidney Swanson [Spoiler Free]

I liked it. It was a unique story and had me captivated from the beginning. 
I liked Sam for the most part. She wasn't a complete idiot and I will be happy to read the next one soon.
The problems I had were that the humour fell short for me on many occasions, and at times the dialogue was a bit choppy. But it was a quick enjoyable read.

Read on August 28, 2012
Books I have.

Exiled (The Never Chronicles #1) by J.R. Wagner [Spoiler Free]

This book had so much potential...but it just wasn't put together right.
The premise was very intriguing. But it took me forever to read this book. After half-way I had to MAKE myself read it.
Unfortunately, I read this in such a monotone that it was grating and difficult to get into.
I did not care for the writing style or structure of this book. It's hard to follow, and you forget everything important as you read. There was no real excitement and part of that was because any time you got close to any major revealing or climax, the chapter would end and then you were either thrust back into the past, or into current time. When you're taken back to the past, it was not in order, which added to making this book difficult to follow. I was having a hard time keeping things together for it to make any sense. The dialogue was annoying. I didn't care for how the characters spoke. I get that it was in ancient times...but it confused that with some of the actions of the characters. For example, in those times women were not equals--then reading how Margaret thought and her actions/reactions went against that.
The story itself was slow and it never picked up pace.
I did not get attached to any of the characters. Part of it was because you never actually got a feel for any of them. Even James. I never got to know him. So I can't say what was or was not out of character for him. I don't even know what he looks like. 
None of the avenues this book started were ever actually concluded, so there was no sense of closure for any aspect of the book, which bothered me. Most stories that have more to follow, at least clear up a few things for you so there is some satisfaction. That was not the case with this book; it did not leave me with the desire to learn more.
The world set up in this book, however, was very clever; very descriptive, and I felt that was the only thing that had any substance. You could really see what you were reading...you just couldn't feel it.

Read from August 26 to 28, 2012
Books I have.

One Black Rose (One Black Rose #1) by Maddy Edwards [Spoiler Alert]

Another story about an idiot girl lovesick after just meeting someone. Oh, and what do you know? She just happens to be the only person he seems to have any interest in. Enter another beautiful guy who is just standoffish, but she is meant to be with. Been there, done that a million times over. Get something new.

I didn't like Autumn. In the beginning she had promise of being a decent main character. Enter Holt, and the decency crumbles. He liked her because she didn't stare...but then she just ended up a gooey, sticky, can't remove my mind from you, mess. She was shallow, rather self absorbed, extremely thoughtless, and down right weak. 

The only variation in this book that was new was that Samuel didn't want her. He might have been destined to be with her, but he didn't want her. Bravo, there was nothing about her to want.

I started off having a problem with the age difference because it just screams pedophile to me. A 15 year old looks like a child. But then I recalled most of the books in this genre have the love interest being centuries old, so I let it slide.

I really didn't like Carley at all. She is a horrid friend and has no redeeming qualities about her to even make her useful to the story.

I questioned why Logan, a fellow 16 year old, acted more like he was 12. If this was an attempt to make Autumn seem more mature, it failed miserably.

Another thing that bothered me was that you only ever heard about how Samuel felt from everyone else's perspective. You never actually got anything from him. And I don't know, but most women, if they are being ignored, are more attracted to the guy who is ignoring them. We are like cats. Yes, it might upset us, but it only makes us more determined. Which Autumn displays after Holt tells her he can't see her anymore...so uh?
But, I felt that Samuel was a wasted character. Autumn never actually gave him a chance, not even once she knew she was supposedly destined to be with him. And he kind of just popped in and then disappeared for the majority of the book. All of the drama surrounding him actually excluded him. 
As for the drama it was all incredibly petty. This wasn't a gripping page turner. In fact, it felt more like a design for a story rather than a finished story. I was left rather disappointed.
On the plus side though, I found out through reading this that I really hate the word "simpering".

Read from August 28 to 29, 2012
Books I have.

Chameleon (Ripple #2) by Cidney Swanson [Spoiler Alert]

I like this series because it is rather unique in its execution. The story line is easy to get attached to. This book annoyed me a bit though.

Why did no one ripple away with Sam when Helga showed up? Isn't that what they were supposed to be going over the day before, before Sam opened her big mouth? Then of course, Sir Walter ripples away with the bodyguard but not Sam..? That's just stupid. And annoying.

The revelation toward the end of the book irritated me as well. It was very obvious throughout the book that there was relation there. I don't know why it waited as long as it did to finally come out and say it. There really wasn't a purpose I could fathom that would make it necessary to drag it out to the character if the reader was so very much aware earlier on.

But it is, like the first, a quick engrossing read. So I have no issue reading the last one.

Read on August 31, 2012
Books I Have.

Dark Light of Mine (Overworld Chronicles #2) by John Corwin [Spoiler Free]

I absolutely love John Corwin's writing style. It is just hysterical. 
Had me laughing all the way through out.
The story was better thought out in this book and executed a lot more smoothly too.
Justin was as funny as ever; self loathing without being annoying but a lot more confident this go around. Elyssa is still a little stuck up for my liking but she redeems herself a little as she did pull the stick out of her ass just a wee bit.
I adore Stacey, she just makes me laugh. I enjoyed all the new additions to Justin's crew in this book, they do make for an entertaining read. I am really looking forward to reading the next book, if not just for the laughs.

Read from August 29 to 31, 2012
Books I have.