Glas told me once that that's what people are, mostly: memories, the memories in their heads, and the memories of them in other people's.
This book was amazing. Beautifully written. Full of so much courage, manipulation, sorrow, and snark. I was blown away.
It is an entirely different spin on faeries. I loved it. At first I was like: what the fuck is going on here? Railwraiths? What the hell is that? But I was quickly drawn in, and completely in awe of this beautiful story.
Pollock has absolutely no fear. He has no boundaries. He just writes with such a passion, and all of his ideas blend together seamlessly. All of his twists and turns surprised me--with the exception of the Goddess being dead.
The romance was subtle, but it was also built on a true foundation. The interconnecting stories of the side characters were also developed well. I had an attachment to everything and everyone in the story. I felt all of the emotion leaking from the ink.
This touches base on many things. Religion, war, bullying, insecurities, differences, racism, and unity. I would recommend it to everyone, boys and girls alike. It really is a great book.
I will most certainly be looking for the sequel.
Read from June 30 to July 01, 2013
Halloween Frost by Jennifer Estep 1 Star
I am so glad that I read this because I actually have a few books to this series sitting in my library to be read. And let me put it to you this way: I won't be reading them.
This was a disaster. I'm not sure how old the characters are, but shit, was this written for 10 year old's?
The love interest is due to hero worship for one, for two, the heroine is delusional and kind of thinks like a stalker, and for three, it's another ridiculous "we can't be together" type of bullshit. Honestly.
Estep's writing style is very mundane. There is nothing extraordinary about this series from what I can gather, there is nothing special about the way Estep puts her thoughts to paper, either. In fact, as I am reading it, I'm feeling like this will have a very Lightning Thief atmosphere to it. And I wasn't interested in that whole fiasco either. However, for those of you who enjoyed Percy Jackson, this would probably be right up your alley. You have a protagonist who is made out, by the author, to be brave and strong, but who ultimately hides behind everyone else to take care of her. I'm glad I read this so I didn't waste my time with the rest of this series. I'm not sure if I'll bother with the other series I have of Estep's either.
The Fat Cat by Edie Ramer 2 Stars
A cute little story, if not a little icky. I was laughing a lot. But it did lack a lot of spark, you know, it didn't rock my socks off.
Medium Rare by Nancy Haddock 3 Stars
A very fun, upbeat, satisfying read. I'd definitely check out another book by Haddock. She has a great writing style that really draws you in.
Sweet Demon by Misty Evans 3 Stars
I liked this story. I was eagerly flipping pages. And I am intrigued enough to look for this series. I was laughing my ass off. And as much as I detest on and off again love stories, it is still piquing my interest.
Sian's Solution by Dale Mayer 2 Stars
A very anxious story, but it just lacked anything else. The action was lame, and the romance was just slapped together.
A Bit of Bite by Cynthia Eden 2 Stars
I found this to be shameful towards women, rather than supportive. You have Julian who is ever the alpha. He thinks having sex with a woman one time equates to owning that woman. Ava is supposed to be an independent woman, but like all the others of her type, she isn't independent at all. She is more than happy to let a man rule her life. The story was too obvious, as well.
Sinfully Sweet by Michelle Miles 1 Star
Another story in this book that degrades women instead of supporting them. Chloe is prepared to behave as a prostitute. She's timid and horny. A strange mixture of emotion. Then you have Edward, who implied he was having a relationship with her dead sister. What the fuck? No thank you.
A Night of Forever by Lori Brighton 1 Star
Incredibly cheesy. There was not enough emotion and no build up for any of this. It could have been cute had a little more time and effort been spent to add depth to the story.
Feel the Magic by Liz Kreger 2 Stars
This was an interesting concept. And I think had it not been so drawn out and boring in the beginning, this would have been really good.
Breaking Out by Michelle Diener 5 Stars.
For someone who doesn't write paranormal novels, Michelle does a fantastic job. This was easily my favourite book in this anthology. It was gripping, interesting, and an awesome plot. I wish this one was a full story instead. It really needs to be a part of its own series.
Ghostly Justice: A Deadly Sins Novella by Allison Brennan 1 Star
This was boring as hell. I didn't want to finish reading it, and it just so happened to be the longest short story in the book. It was not written in a way to hold your attention. I was easily distracted. I also found the pacing to be too slow. This was a short story that belonged to a series. This is not one that you could pick up and know anything about what was happening or who the main characters were. There was a lot of missing information so I couldn't make a connection to any of the characters. I had thought that the detective was the main character since the beginning made it seem that way. But really, it was Rafe and Moira who were the main focus. They already had a pre-established relationship which left me floundering a little because I didn't catch that with their initial integration. The sex scene should have been left out completely. I've never read such a rushed boring attempt at seduction. It was awful. Based on this book, I will not be looking into this series.
Overall
I liked this book in the fact that there were some authors in here that I've never read from. And there are 3 that I think I will look into. But, I can't say that I would ever pick it up again, nor would I bother recommending it to anyone. I really feel I wouldn't have missed this book or most of the short stories in here if I'd never read them. Only one really stood out.
Read from June 23 to July 02, 2013
True Rating: 3.5 Stars
Hahaha...these books are hilarious. They really are. I love Justin's happy-go-lucky attitude, it just makes for a pleasant reading experience from his point of view.
He makes all kinds of mistakes, and just kind of blunders along, while trying to do what's right. I'm very attached to him.
So much action. So many subplots. But not too many that you lose sight of the main goal. It has been a very fun ride.
Unfortunately, Corwin decided to jump on the amnesia bandwagon that seems to be in almost all YA novels right now. The good thing? Corwin kept things interesting. First of all, Elyssa knew she was going to lose her memories. She made herself a record and found a nifty way to keep it on her person. It was a little convenient how it came to be found, but it was also something that I've yet to see. Secondly, Justin didn't go all emo or anything, and he kept the lid on his emotions instead of jumping all over her with their history. He gave Elyssa time and space to get herself together.
Did I mention that these books are funny? Sure, they're very immature, but I like that. These are not very thought provoking, instead, they're a lite, enjoyable read that keep you biting at the bit for more. I will certainly be reading the next one.
Read from July 02 to 06, 2013
Oh, I am so glad I have finished this book. It was so very boring. In fact, I found myself doing other monotonous things instead of reading it--like removing tags from my library.
I was not a fan of the little snippets Zevin added for "the readers". She really did herself a disservice with these because it threw me out of the read, reminding me that I was not a part of this story, and that my feelings did not matter at all.
The elaboration behind making chocolate illegal was much better in this book than the first.
It was very annoying that everything going on in this book was so obvious. To top it all off, it was spelled out for you, and still Anya was oblivious. What was the point in this?
My issue with the romance is that Win and Anya didn't really establish a solid relationship in the first book. So, for all the lack of contact between the two of them in this book, I saw no way for their relationship to survive. Furthermore, the intensity of their feelings for one another didn't add up, especially with Win walking away at the end. I will say that I was happy that he did. I will not be pleased if they smooth things over later. I would have welcomed a new romance in this book. With everything that goes on in these novels, and the way that Anya has to adapt and change--or even stay the same, it would be fitting and more realistic.
I don't know that I will bother with the next book. It is a decent premise. The plot, itself, is also intriguing. It is just too damn painful to get through the book. I was tempted to put it down and forget about it. I don't really care enough about the story to subject myself to the boredom any further. A book should not be a chore to read, and unfortunately, both of these books have been.
Read from July 06 to 07, 2013
Vacations from Hell (Anthology) by Libba Bray
Cruisin' by Sarah Mlynowski 3 Stars
This had a funny little twist. I caught on about half way through, but I did like how it was set up to make you think something else. You, with all your dirty thoughts, you!
I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray 1.5 Stars
This was just really, really catty. I was hoping that Cecily would have been wrong and something bad would happen to her.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson 3 Stars
Yeah, all that catching up had me completely derailed from what was supposed to be going on. How many times did it need to be reiterated that they were bored? Was the goal to bore the reader to tears? Because Gray was successful. However, once it got going it was really funny. It was a decent read in the end, but what happened to the cousin?
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare 2 Stars
Another step-brotherly love. It was a decent plot, but I am glad it pretty much went no where. It was really obvious what was going on and what was going to happen. Meh.
Nowhere Is Safe Libba Bray 3 Stars
Interesting format. It was also a unique story. Very interesting plot. I wouldn't have minded this being a full story.
Overall
2.5 stars. Some authors are really good with short stories. They hold a lot of meaning and entertainment. For how short they are, there is a lot of meat on the bones. This is not the case for these stories. They are rather hollow, missing the finesse to make them truly pop. I wouldn't bother reading this again, nor would I recommend it to anyone who has read from these authors before.
Read from July 02 to 07, 2013
After a very rocky and boring start, and quite a few boring bumps along the way, this book wasn't too terrible.
But it was very predictable. Dark needs to work on some obscurity.
Normally, I really don't care for name drops--authors or fashion-wise. I forgave this book a lot of the author and movie name drops because it pertained to Callie's profession. I do feel that Dark went overboard with this, though. And it quickly became tiresome.
A lot of authors also feel the need to take you on long winded descriptions of houses, rooms, and nature settings. Dark is one of these authors. There needs to be a limit on how much detail you give. I don't care about every little extravagance. Get the point across with the least amount of words, we aren't reading your book to see how well you can describe a porcelain cup, we want the story and relationships of your characters.
Dark's description and story progression ratio was pretty awful. Most of this book is spent exposing you to useless scenes and impressions that hinder the pace of the book.
The characters were not well rounded. Most of them were carbon copies of each other. Callie annoyed me because she seemed to be against the stupid heroines who can't do anything for themselves, yet she was exactly like them. I was hoping, that with her disdain for this type of persona, that she would have been an awesome character to read from when shit hit the fan. No, she wasn't. She was just like every other degradation toward femininity portrayed through other such novels as this one.
Through the majority of the read, Callie has a boyfriend, Paul. You don't see much of this character. He is but a mere shadow in the background. It was nice to have a change of lover, and not a triangle, however, there was no courting done with Liam and Callie. Of course, you know who and what he is immediately, but there was no connection between the two. No chemistry. I'm thinking that a lot of the meaningless descriptions could have been replaced with some interactions between Liam and Callie. And not just for the sake of shaping their relationship, but so you could get a feel for who Liam is as a character.
The grammar in this book was pretty shotty too.
In short: this isn't the worst book out there. It's actually pretty interesting. It definitely needs some work, though. I don't know if I will read the next one. Maybe...but it certainly won't be the top of my list.
Read from July 07 to 08, 2013
1.5 Stars.
I was under the impression that this was supposed to be a chilling mystery and that it was supposed to be romantic. That's not what I got.
So, the idea that Amelia couldn't remember anything about herself after she died was an interesting concept. The problem I had with this, though, was that it came across as an excuse to forgo character development. Not a single character in this book had any specific build up. You didn't learn anything about them.
It had been a main focus throughout Amelia's thoughts, and from what others were saying to her, that it was important that she find out what she was like before she died. It was implied in the description of the book that she and Joshua would find out about her life before she died and that Eli would make things difficult for their relationship. This didn't actually happen.
I was expecting a lot of interaction and interference from Eli. I was expecting some character development to back up his evil nature. I was expecting him to act like a villain, not just some pop up character to throw monkey wrenches at cars as they cross over a bridge, so to speak.
I really shouldn't have had any expectations, because none of them were met.
Joshua finds Amelia in a year book. Then somehow this caused a lot of memories to come back for her on their own. Very convenient. In fact, I'm no longer sure what the ghostly amnesia really did for this story. It just made room for a lot of unnecessary fluff.
Nothing actually happened in this story. It was all very low key. Nothing of importance was withheld from you. It was too easy to piece together, and other things that came about really had no reason to do so. Like, Amelia knowing Eli was going after Joshua's family. There wasn't a reason for that to pop into her head. Eli hadn't actually threatened them.
Nothing was adequately explained either. The workings behind the evil black maw beneath the bridge was just slightly touched upon. Which I found to be disappointing because it really held a lot of webbing for this story.
The romance was lame. Let's face it: A really hot, living guy falling in love with a ghost. Riiight. Even so, I actually found Amelia's hold on him to be very selfish, and borderline evil, really. She should be letting him live a normal life, with living people, since he is, and she is not, living. I think it would have been better had he actually died. And they made their way through the hereafter together, learning the rules, instead of what this turned out to be.
How does a ghost go about hyperventilating exactly? I could understand feeling anxious, but hyperventilating would require the ghost to actually need to breathe. All the references to Amelia breathing annoyed me due to her not being alive, and I tried to forgive this with the fact that it could have been habit, but the frequency and focus on her need to breathe to steady her nerves and shit, countered the image of her being deceased.
I was also offended by the implication that if you listened to death metal (I do) that you were not a good person...really? Way to alienate your readers.
So, yeah...not really interested in where this story is going. There are no real struggles in this book, so it leads me to the conclusion that there won't be any real struggles in the series. Everything will pretty much resolve itself.
The cover is gorgeous though.
Read from July 08 to 09, 2013
3.5 Stars
It must be a male thing to talk about playing with balls.
Initially, I felt bad for Beth being a dare, but she evens the playing field by using Ryan, good for her, but that little tid bit made me feel less sorry for her.
I know this is supposed to be a romance, but I was really interested in the struggles both characters were saddled with. I would have appreciated more focus on these points. I would have liked to see a bit more of Scott and Beth's relationship healing, and how she got along with Allison. Because the frosty nature between those two was important to how she felt connected and grounded in her new home.
I didn't like how Scott used Beth's mother against her. I felt that was very cruel. She definitely needed to be out of that situation, but how would she ever feel like she could trust someone who was blackmailing her?
I liked Beth's character development. I liked that she wasn't afraid to be herself and stand up for what she believed in. As impossible as it is to get someone sober without them wanting to, I did admire her for trying to do right by her piece of shit mother. I just don't think that this issue was really brought to life in the way it should have been. Sure, you got a scraping edge of what this shit can do to people's lives, but I don't think it really got to the heart of it.
This book was primarily romance with a hint of family drama, much like Pushing the Limits. I think the first one dealt with the issues better than this one. I really would have liked this concept more had it been written by Colleen Hoover, I think, because she knows how to get the issues right up in your face, while keeping the romance a large aspect of the story. I think as McGarry continues to write, she will find herself in the range of writing easily. She certainly has potential.
Ryan was a sweetheart, even if he was an idiotic sweetheart. The problem with Ryan was that he was very feminine. He didn't really read as a male for me. His emotional standpoint just didn't reflect any masculine attributes.
Overall: This is a touching story. It's not very exciting, but it still has the ability to keep you glued to the story. That's impressive. I would recommend it to people who love Colleen Hoover's writing style. McGarry isn't quite at the same level, but I have no doubt she'll get there quickly as she improves her writing style.
Read from July 09 to 10, 2013
Tarnished (Silver #2)by Rhiannon Held
I
wasn't sure how much I would like this book with the inclusion of
Susan's trials among the Were, but it wasn't as bad as I had
anticipated.
There was a very strong presence of the author advocating female strength in this book. This isn't something that I really enjoy. I don't feel the need to go burn my bras in the street to show off how much of a man I can be. And I really am not a fan of having this type of thing shoved down my throat as it was in this book, hence the 3 stars. I will say, though, that Held did a great job of making it more about true equality rather than trying for superiority over men.
I didn't find this book as interesting as the first one. The plot seemed to waver a lot before finally settling on Silver and Andrew becoming alphas for the whole of North America. How they got this position wasn't entirely clear to me either. So you have some European assholes come and manipulate one Alpha, torture another, and voila! Now, we need to band together? I don't think so. I would have liked something a little more solid than that.
I do love Silver. She is such a strong, awesome, crazy girl. I like that Andrew is crazy, too.
It's still a decent read. If you read the first one, it's not a bad follow up. If you didn't, this would work okay as a first time read of Held's work.
There was a very strong presence of the author advocating female strength in this book. This isn't something that I really enjoy. I don't feel the need to go burn my bras in the street to show off how much of a man I can be. And I really am not a fan of having this type of thing shoved down my throat as it was in this book, hence the 3 stars. I will say, though, that Held did a great job of making it more about true equality rather than trying for superiority over men.
I didn't find this book as interesting as the first one. The plot seemed to waver a lot before finally settling on Silver and Andrew becoming alphas for the whole of North America. How they got this position wasn't entirely clear to me either. So you have some European assholes come and manipulate one Alpha, torture another, and voila! Now, we need to band together? I don't think so. I would have liked something a little more solid than that.
I do love Silver. She is such a strong, awesome, crazy girl. I like that Andrew is crazy, too.
It's still a decent read. If you read the first one, it's not a bad follow up. If you didn't, this would work okay as a first time read of Held's work.
Read from July 10 to 11, 2013
True Rating: 4.5 stars.
Book One
This "episode" wasn't my favourite. I did like the new character additions, though. I just didn't really care for the case. I found my attention wandering--which is so rare when reading these books. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the story. I still love the characters--every single one of them--it was just not as interesting this time around. I didn't get into the hunt as much. And was it just me, or was Roan really whiny in this one? What happened with that key that Fox found in the cigarette pocket at Alley Cats? Did I just space this?
Book Two
"Can you call him off?"
"No. How do you call off a lion? It's not like you can train them to heel."
Weren't goalies and dominatrices natural enemies in the wild?
Here we go! Lot's of action, lots of bitching, lots of drama, and Roan goes
See, now, this is how a story is written. The conversations flow effortlessly. The scenes fall into place--they're not forced. You feel like you're a part of this world. You're riding shotgun in Roan's GTO. You're riding bitch--get over it--with Roan on his bike into all kinds of trouble. You're lioning out at some homophobic asshole for Roan. Oddly enough, even though he's really rough around the edges, highly cynical, and slightly hypocritical, you have his fuckin' back. Who knows, you might want to join the Falcons.
Roan's riding a slippery slope in this book. Slowly, yet quickly, he is losing his humanity. So much drama does Roan bring to the table, but if his typical life of misery isn't enough for you, he has a target on his back, and it's getting personal.
It is a well known fact that I am addicted to these books. Shift does not disappoint. I will hungrily read the next one....there better be a lot more where these came from, because I'm no where near ready to give them up.
Read from July 11 to 15, 2013
Am I less because I have fewer, or do the fewer mean I have more?
All of your pieces fill up other people's holes.
But they don't fill your own.
One small changed family doesn't calculate into a world that has been spinning for billions of years. But one small change makes the world spin differently in a billion ways for one family.
Lots of food for thought in this book. I liked that there was a slight mystery as to what Jenna was. You had the general idea down, but not the extent of it.
I liked how it was written, I felt the structure did this book wonders. With the general content, it could have easily been very boring, and I'm sure for some, it still was.
I like how the question of what makes anyone human was tackled. I also liked that everything else going on in the book was really the background. I just didn't think there was enough insight for the philosophies undertaken in this book to make it a true gem. Sure, the questions were asked. You, as the reader, are challenged with finding the answers within yourself, yet Pearson doesn't offer any ideas from herself, as an author, or even through the views of the characters. I was disappointed with this. There were plenty of opportunities for it, so I'm guessing this lite version was what she was going for. And for me, it wasn't enough.
It was still a good book.
Not sure what I really thought of the ending, Now, I can see that this book might have been a difficult one to end, and I didn't feel that the ending fit it at all. I felt like too much was missing.
I have the second book to this, and I will probably read it sometime in the near future.
Read from July 15 to 16, 2013
...Oh, wow...
Not even a chapter into this book and I had a headache. It was just awful.
The dialogue is terrible. What the fuck is Booker's obsession with Ignorance/Ignorant? Seriously! You've killed that word family.
So, we get Lizzie, who supposedly had her house broken into, and she's getting ready to go out to a party. Her friend calls her to ask her where she's at, and she doesn't even bother telling her about the break in? In what universe would this happen?
Darrton--Death--was supposedly a human once upon a time. Some time in the 1800's. I guess he just went to heaven and God was like, "Hey, yo! There's a position open all of a sudden for Death, a rider of the apocalypse, you seem like you'd be a great fit!" And voila, now he was Death.
So, anywho, moving on, all of the riders got kicked out of Heaven because they tried to start the apocalypse before God was ready to. And having being damned to Earth, they're still dead set on doing it, only now through Satan. So...they're evil?
Darrton was injured during his fall and for some reason, he is not healing like he should. Lizzie stumbles on him, and he picks her up by the throat, calls her ignorant a few dozen times, speaks like a fucking caveman or something, and then demands water. Uh...okay.
A bunch more stupid scenes take place...and then we're with Lizzie and Millie at The Picnic Basket for fudge and breakfast. Darrton shows up, grumbles and threatens Lizzie not to tell anyone, again, what he is, and then asks her if she would prefer he let his wings out in public...Do you see what's wrong with this?
Then there's this:
"Mommy, Mommy! That man's not wearing a shirt!" I heard from behind me.
The woman made a sound of disgust and covered the eyes of her little girl, who was pointing at Darrton. "Sir, you should have more respect for people than to walk around half naked, in a public place."
Really...? And just where the fuck would this happen exactly? It's not like it's uncommon for a guy to walk around without his shirt. And it's highly unlikely a little girl would point at a man without his shirt. More unlikely, though, would be a mother covering her daughter's eyes because a man wasn't wearing a shirt! Just...what the fuck!?
No...I will not subject myself to this any longer. Just no. I cannot believe this was published...The editor needs to be fired. I don't recommend it, and I will be avoiding anything written by Booker in the future.
Read from July 16 to 17, 2013
"I figured I'd tag you, so that animal control would know there's a bitch on the loose."
The shakes aren't the vibrations of the pastor's love. They are the echoes of your disgust.
Ah, this book was really good. Nothing like a bitch fight to start off the read. Loved it.
A very dark read, indeed. I enjoyed it. Eve was awesome, and I kind of would have liked to read things from her perspective. She was obviously troubled, and I would have liked to know what made her tick.
Ash was a great character. She wasn't the typical meek, flighty squirrel of a girl as most YA protagonists are made out to be. She took no shit from anyone. She had a mind to get things done the way she wanted them done. She didn't cut corners--she just went to town. I loved her.
The side characters were lacking a bit of development though, and I would have preferred having more interaction with them so you got to know them better. I wasn't very attached to them, so when shit went down, it didn't really do anything for me.
The other problem was, when things came to light, rather than delve into the situation like you would expect, and in my case: want, Knight just left it hanging and started a new chapter. Sometimes he'd bring it to light and explain a little further and give you more details, but he never actually gave any of them closure. For example: when Ash finds Serena with a Cloak...nothing comes of it. You're expected to swallow that Serena didn't give a shit about it and was content to continue on as if things were normal. Ash doesn't tell anyone about it, she doesn't want to get to the bottom of it...it's just left hanging. This happens with most of the subplots. I was not happy with that.
I did love the twist at the end. Though, I'm a little concerned as to why Eve didn't let on. It just seems, with what you know about Eve, that she wouldn't be able to keep from using this knowledge to her advantage. It also makes you wonder what the hell went down between her and Blink that she would go to the lengths she did to use him against Ash.
Anyway, it was a great book. I enjoyed reading it. I loved all the sarcasm, had me laughing my ass off. I will definitely be reading the next one.
Read from July 17 to 18, 2013
All you have to do is meet a person
Shake their hand
Look into their eyes
They are you
We are all broken together
If this was a stand alone book, I would have given it a higher rating. But it's not. It is the third book in the Slammed series, and 90% of it was a fucking rehash of the first two books. 10% of it was new minor details that didn't really make a difference. 5% of the 10% of new minor details were meaningless sex scenes that weren't actually sex scenes.
I was actually very disappointed in the read. It makes me reluctant to read any of Hoover's sequels.
Vaughn was made out to be a horrible character in all of the books. I don't think she did anything wrong--aside from the probable cheating, which I felt was just added as an extra bonus to dislike her justifiably. Breaking up with Will because she knew she didn't want the life he could offer doesn't make her a bad person. There's nothing wrong with doing what is best for you. Being selfish is not always a bad thing. It is much better than staying with someone out of pity. No one would be happy in that circumstance, and it annoyed me that she was made to be a villain for doing what was right for her. Timing is irrelevant. Sure, it sucked for Will, but it doesn't make her a piece of shit for knowing what she wants or doesn't want. I admired her for being able to be honest, especially during a time like that.
Anyway, I felt that this book was overkill. I don't see why the ending of this book couldn't have been added to Point of Retreat. There was no need for this book. It's still a cute read but I think it would have been better had I not read the other books.
Read from July 18 to 19, 2013
Maybe if I'd read the Dante Valentine series first, I might have liked this more. But since I didn't, I was missing a lot of political and general world information and ties.
Can someone explain to me why shifters are usually Natives? It makes me wonder if that stereotype is insulting or seen as a compliment....just curious.
I have to agree with another reviewer that Jill's condescending ways with everyone really took away a lot of her appeal. I had a hard time relating and forming a connection with her.
How old was Jill? I kept getting conflicting feelings for her age. She cares far too much about how strangers feel about her to be beyond teen years, yet her profession, drinking, and past suggest she's older.
tasted like moonlight
I have read some ridiculous things for how people taste. Sunlight, spring, cake batter, fresh cut grass...now I can add moonlight to the list.
There was a lot of telling and not enough showing with the combat scenes, I was disappointed. I didn't understand what made Jill so awesome. I'm not sure how she survived six months as a hunter, or her temper tantrums in the hellbreed holes because during her one on ones, someone had to save her ass. It didn't add up.
The unreasonable (or maybe reasonable) fear of Perry annoyed me because we never got to see why he's so damn scary. As far as villains go, he sucks.
Eh, it was still entertaining, but I think I'll read the Dante Valentine series before I continue this one.
Read from July 20 to 21, 2013
Love hard and when it's worth it, risk it all.
Know a good thing when you have it, fight like hell to keep it, and love like it's the only thing you know how to do.
This book was okay. It was just plain awful during the first half of the book. Then, a little after half way, it improved a bit. It was definitely a depressing read filled with some really cute bits of wisdom.
The problems I had with the first half of the book definitely resided in the romance. Ryland acted very forward with Araya, and it was just off. He supposedly respected women, but I couldn't see it. With the way he acted, getting all up in her face, presuming he had the consent to touch her whenever he damn well pleased, it came across just the opposite of respect. And I really didn't see Araya being comfortable with it, especially because she wasn't used to dealing with strangers, let alone boys. These scenes really cheapened the romance between them. One that really rubbed me the wrong way was how he backed her into a wall after she stood him up. You'd think he'd tread lightly because he wouldn't be sure how she felt about him, not force himself on her...and of course, this doesn't faze Araya one bit.
I found most of these scenes to be awkward and not fitting to the circumstances.
"You're sister is just teasing you, darlin'"
Needless to say, there were a ton of editing issues.
I was curious as to how Araya smelled liked sunflowers while she was wearing fruity perfume.
Even though the little mission impossible operation of getting Araya alone was cute, it didn't make a lot of sense. Before Ryland knows who is at the door, he is trying to get out of the house before he would have to make small talk with Cara's guest. But somehow, because it is Araya, he's not even allowed to look at her? More puzzling though, is why the fuck would Annie care? She was like a mother to those kids, I just don't see her making an attempt to keep Ryland from anyone who comes to his house. I sure don't see her making sure he cannot talk to her.
So, how exactly did Araya learn to hide her blindness? She was cooped up in her aunt's apartment...when would she have had the experiences she'd need to learn to keep her disability hidden? The things Araya could and couldn't do contradicted her condition and circumstances--often. It was a cute idea, but I'm not sure Andrea actually read her book? All of her characters were contradicting themselves left, right, and center.
"I'm not beneath begging." Uh...? Was that supposed to mean that begging was not beneath him?
"I can make a really good sandwich."..."I can't promise they'll be very good." ...Yeah...
and decided not to tell him I had an errand to run. He already told Sebastian that he was running an errand...
Who were "all these people" telling Ryland that he was falling in love with Araya? The only one I saw was Cara... This type of thing just made me roll my eyes. How are you supposed to relate to a high strung person who exaggerates everything?
Then there was Araya who had never eaten anything in her life. She didn't know if she liked turkey...Turkey! She's American! How had she not had turkey? I just don't understand how being blind meant she couldn't remember how things tasted...Again, although these scenes were cute, they didn't belong.
The ending was cute, I thought. I don't want to read the next one, and I don't think I would ever recommend this book to anyone, but there were some cute scenes if you left out the bones of the book. I also liked the twist that came about. It answered a few of my other questions.
Read from July 22 to 23, 2013
1.5 Stars
So...I have to say that I really didn't like this.
2 hot guys impossibly in love with the protagonist--check!
A crazy electric connection and/or burning--check!
Cheesy--check!
Overachieving date--check!
Rich lovers--check!
Plain Jane not physically or mentally fit for said 2 hot guys--check!
Insecure to the point of needing therapy--check!
So, we have ourselves a "strong independent woman" for our protagonist--Evie. She's just down right awful. What the fuck is wrong with a guy opening your fucking door? "I don't like the meaning behind it." What meaning? That you're too stupid to open a door on your own? I like that Evie threw out the fact that there had been a women's movement, yet for some reason she wasn't aware, herself, that there had been one! How is chivalry offensive? Now, I get that Corbett made it out to be horrible by having Alex become some overbearing control freak, but when most guys open your door, it's not because they want to control you. Get off it.
I hated her. She was whiny, spiteful, severely insecure, manipulative, mentally abusive, venomous, and hypocritical. I just DO NOT see what Alex and Emil saw in her. She treated them both like shit. I don't give a damn if they're her fucking soul mates, no one should put up with her behaviour. She's heavy, hates men, and hates herself to boot, yet somehow she manages to be in a love triangle with two hotter than hell guys that shouldn't want to look at her, let alone touch her? I just don't buy it.
"But you're making such a big deal out of kissing, I wonder if you'll ever want anything more with me." ...Who finds this kind of thing worth dealing with? They're not even together for more than a few days, official not even one, and that's what she chooses to come out with? Let me tell you something--that is a fucking red flag for psycho bitch, and you should run for the hills. And guess what? He did...maybe not for that reason, but he should have. And he should have stayed away. Evie really fit the shoes for "independent strong woman."
Alex was hot..and I guess that was all there was to him. I guess I can see why she picked Emil over him, and I'm sure she will again. He's just too damn bossy and controlling for our independent strong woman, or any woman for that matter. But, you'll find that Evie actually says this, so we can add shallow to her list of endearments.
So, who ever thought his date was anything but creepy, I suggest you get therapy. That was just waaaay too desperate. I would have been extremely uncomfortable. I could see that being something done as a proposal, but for a first formal date? Oh, hell no. It made Alex out to be trying to buy her, and well, that's not attractive either.
The triangle had some interesting quirks to it, but it got really old fast. These guys are always in her face, glowering at each other, on the verge of punching out each other. Alex bitches at her for actually liking the guy he told her to stay in a relationship with...I mean, for someone who was so independent, she sure took a lot of ridiculous orders, yet protested or straight out ignored the better ones. She was an embarrassment to women everywhere.
The subplot--because the triangle was the main plot; yes, meshed within a lot of insignificant scenes and awful information dumps, this book was cheesy romance--was different. But, because there was no real focus on the subplot, it lacked substance. The execution was terrible. I think had there been more focus on what was happening in this ridiculous world, and more elaboration as to how this shit actually worked, it might have been good. As it stands, there are holes everywhere. I didn't fully understand how the Daevos worked, how they were recruited, or the good guys either for that matter. I was also wondering why there were any couples in the world if the Daevos were supposed to be off killing people. Why were Evie's parents safe and together? Were they just not soul mates? See what I mean...
Anyway, I won't be reading further. I just don't care for this style of book. I hate triangles, and this one made me want to bash my head into a brick wall rather than continuing the book. If this is the type of romance you enjoy--then you will love it. If not, you were warned.
Read from July 24 to 25, 2013
Better Read than Dead (Psychic Eye Mystery #2) by Victoria Laurie
"No, not joking at all. I'm a psychic. I look into a crystal ball and wear lots of scarves and dance under the full moon while howling like a coyote."
If you haven't read the first one, or if it has been a while since you read the first one, you won't be lost while reading this book. Laurie takes some time explaining things for you, so this would not be a bad book to read if you're new to the series.
Poor Abby, she has a black cloud following her in this book, nothing is going right. She finds herself smack dab in the middle of some serious danger, yet somehow manages to come away with a few minor scrapes and bruises.
I loved Milo in this book. His personality was just awesome. I'm hoping to see a lot more of him in the next books.
Dutch was pretty much a no show. He was off doing things with his new profession, and when he was making an appearance, he was being a pig. I don't really like him anymore.
Although the plot was good, and fun to read, it was entirely obvious. There were no twists, and I knew the outcome from the beginning. And for every new subplot that arose, I could guess what was happening with those, too. I did like how things went from point A to point B.
I wasn't very thrilled how Kendal just kind of exited stage left, in the beginning of all this crap, and only reappeared once it was over. He was psychic too, so I also found it hard to believe that Abby could lie to him. I'm also unsure of why she didn't let him know what kind of situation he got her into.
Having the Miss Snark killed off annoyed me. Especially because she was killed during the deed...that was really uncalled for. And it brought about thoughts that Abby could only rest easy so long as she was no longer in the picture--at all.
Laurie closes her books well. She answers the questions in the book with, mostly, satisfactory answers.
Overall, it is a really fun book. And I will be reading the next one.
Read in July, 2013
Should I have felt sorry for these things? They had no knowledge of the world. They had no parents. They had no God. They were soulless.
When did my own home become so dangerous?
You could make them strong and agile, but if you couldn't make them believe, none of it would matter.
"Maybe it's better to live in a world you don't understand, because if you understood it, it becomes unbearable."
Ugh...I am sick of red heads...so very sick of them. No offense to red heads out there, but YA novels have really done a number on them. I have come to despise them with a passion.
The plot seemed promising, right up until chapter 3. And, as the book progressed, the holes got bigger and bigger. Truitt was laying contradictions all over the place. It was like she had forgotten what she had written, so things that appeared in the book later, after having something stated earlier that was the opposite, really grated on my nerves. It doesn't help that I have read some really awesome dystopian novels. And this one had a lot of promise, even potential, but it just wasn't what it could have been.
I did enjoy the idea that the soul has levels. I did enjoy some of the food for thought that this book had to offer.
The underlying messages where this book connects to today's America, politically, were done well.
Tess
Now, I know Tess is supposed to be somewhat of a controversy. That was plain as day. She's heartless, stubborn, hypocritical, down right nasty, and cruel. I got the impression that I wasn't supposed to judge her on these things; instead, I was meant to see the world from her perspective, and watch her learn from the consequences.
But it was difficult to get a real feel for her. Her character was so conflicting. She never stuck to a typical behavioral pattern, except bitchiness. She didn't act the way I would expect her to based on her morals, beliefs, and thoughts. Her actions do not make sense for her brainwashing and circumstances.
She was enamored with the Chosen Ones, she believed in what they stood for, and she believed in the rules and regulations set upon her people. Yet, she is not upset to find herself in James' room. This was something I expected her to be flighty with. She had kept herself away from boys, and James should have been no exception. And in certain instances, he wasn't, but it was so wishy-washy that it completely destroyed her character development.
She was very quick to disregard herself and everything she had believed. It made her character come across much more horrible than I think Truitt had intended. Especially with how she had treated her sister, then turned around and found herself in a similar boat, and still she cursed her sister, but not herself.
The one good thing about Tess, though, was that she was relatively honest. She wasn't really one to keep a hoard of secrets, and run around lying to everyone. That was a nice change.
Plot
I'm a little confused as to how these people became so primitive in such a short period of time. I just don't understand it. Even when Tess was little things had been closer to normal standards. She had been able to go to school for a short period of time. She was taught to read. Obviously, her parents and the other adults were somewhat educated. The reasons behind how the world came to be were just not adequate for this scenario.
The branding was also extremely primitive, and rather out of place when you consider that they had lasered numbers on their wrists, and even tracking devices embedded in their thighs. I felt this was meant to be used as another degradation towards women. I am hoping for a better reason for the hostility toward women. My guess is that they are a threat to Chosen Ones if they can birth their own children, but that's not really good enough for me.
Survival instincts wouldn't have us, as humans--animals--shying away from "kill or be killed". It wouldn't. We might become complacent in the way that we would rather have someone else fight our battles for us, and I was fine with that line of thinking, but I'm not buying into this excuse.
But the funny thing about mankind is we have a natural need--a natural will to live....so, how does this play nicely with us not wanting to "kill or be killed."?
I had an issue with the Chosen Ones all being men, as well. For the idea that the women were to be eliminated, it just didn't make sense. For one, the Chosen Ones were not sterile. Why would they be able to procreate if there were not to be women with which to procreate? Why would they have any sexual tendencies at all?
Misc issues
Records? Really? And this is during a time where super humans with powers can be created in a lab? This annoyed me because it's almost like it was set in the 50's, with some super advanced science experiments going on. And maybe it would have been better had this been the case. The problem for me was that I had seen this crisis occurring in the future, where records would have easily become obsolete. They have been for decades now, and I know you can still get them, but I would have thought that James would have had something a little more high tech, since he himself is rather high tech, indeed. I guess I just felt that it didn't belong.
So, everyone that had survived were either Christian or Heretics? They had freedom of religion, supposedly, but only the bible was handed out? That was what had been implied...so I was a bit put off by this as well.
The mismatch of what technologies were and were not available.
James getting Tess to dance with him by joking that it would be an experiment with Natural culture. They weren't allowed music, so why would Naturals dance?
Henry never could leave things well enough alone.
Hmm...see, this didn't make sense. The only thing you learn about Henry really, was that they were great friends because they didn't bother one another. And that he stopped being her friend because he liked her more than he should have. When was he ever not leaving anything alone? The instances where that was observed was actually her, hounding him.
I thought Louisa was 13, and that she was the youngest in the compound? And then there's a woman with two kids not much older than 10? Could that be taken as 13 year old's too? Because if that is the case, why not just say not much older than her sister?
Biggest Issue
This book is nothing more than man hating propaganda at the base level. The loudest message I received from this book was how awful men are. This pissed me off royally. You will notice that all of the people in power were men. All of the Chosen Ones were men. All of the scientists were men. Men were the ones dealing out torture. Men were the ones raping women and extorting them for sex. Men were ones surviving while women died in child birth. Men were the ones sitting on their asses doing nothing, while they were all being corralled into these inhumane pens. And men were, mostly, the only ones doing any fighting back.
So, men are horrible creatures, and women are just stupid and lazy. Gotcha.
Overall
I liked that things were not sugar coated. Tess was a mess as a character, and the plot was slippery. But I might pick up the next one.
Read on July 27, 2013
True Rating: 2.5 Stars
This book is very slow paced, which makes it easy to put down and difficult to immerse yourself in Brennan's world. The premise is a good one, and the plot is solid. I was not at all surprised with how the stories connected in the end, in fact, it was what I had been suspecting would happen. I was satisfied with the ending.
It was a shock to me that Miryo was 25. She had the mind of a teenager and continually thought and acted like one.
There was no romance in this book, which I don't typically mind, but considering how slow the plot was and the lack of intrigue throughout a good portion of the book, it probably would have helped to have one.
The temptation to skim was impossible to pass up, and I gave in often. I actually skipped a whole lot of the dance, although I can now see how it held relevance to the story.
I felt that all of the characters lacked a lot of development, and most of the focus was spent on the plot and boring filler. I would like to see more development for the characters in the following books.
The world building was decent, but I think there could have been more considering it was entirely new to the reader.
The premise actually reminded me a lot of Otherling by Juliet Mirillier, which was certainly an interesting concept. And I liked this better since it was fully elaborated, and the different take was interesting, too.
Read from July 28 to 29, 2013
So, this had pretty good reviews, and I thought I was in for a good read. Nope...I got my hopes up, and couldn't finish this. I gave up at chapter seven.
So, Selene is supposed to be an angel. She doesn't act like an angel. She's a timid wimp. She cries all the time, and she begs and acts like a scared little girl. I just didn't see anything angelic about her.
The structure for guardian angels and how they work didn't make a lick of sense. By chapter seven I still had no idea what was going on or how the rankings worked. Why were there substitutes for guardian charges? It doesn't make sense at all.
Supposedly accidents don't happen if your guardian angel is on the job, and basically, they have the option of appearing in human form to guard their charges or they can stay invisible. It makes one wonder how many of the friends you have are angels and how many are actually your friends, when it is put this way.
This did not feel like a first book. The way it is written, it feels like you're coming into a story that already has a story outlined before it. The characters have no development, you're not really introduced to the other characters, but rather they are thrown in with preexisting relationships that you are not aware of. There are a number of worlds that Selene can orb to, that you have no idea about. This book jumps all over the place without any explanations. Maybe they come later in the book, but I was confused enough as it was without these other worlds coming into play.
I'm not sure how old Selene is supposed to be, and I am not sure how old her charge is, but it was implied that she was roughly twenty. None of these characters acted like this age group, so I had been under the impression that they were about 15.
I'm not sure where this story was ultimately going, but the plot was incredibly weak. There is all this information about shit that doesn't add up to anything, so it made it difficult for me to get into the read. I was also not a fan of the dialogue and monologue, so that made it all the more difficult to enjoy this read. Well, clearly this book is not for me. So I'm going to put it down.
Perhaps the really young crowd will enjoy this. But, I have to say that books like these have made me realize that perhaps I need to graduate out of the YA books, the writing has become so tacky that it's getting harder to find decent stories.
Read from July 29 to 30, 2013
This is the most disgusting book I have ever attempted to read.
I will never pick up another book by Stephens ever again. I have absolutely no respect for someone who could write something like this. It's not even that it's controversial, it's that there will be a happy fucking ending for this horrible, horrible woman.
The book is aptly named after Kiera's excuse for cheating. She just couldn't think, even when given opportunities to make sure she knew what she wanted to do.
Kiera
What is sad about Kiera, is that she exists. There are many women who think and act like she did. It's disgusting. You know, I thought, well maybe, just maybe, this book would hold some consequences for that bitch, but as far as I could stomach--admittedly, it wasn't far--I made it to the coffee hut--everything was peachy for her.
Here are Kiera's qualities.
*She's a prude.
*She's an idiot.
*She's incredibly selfish.
*She's very uptight.
*She has a negative outlook on life and a negative opinion about others' happiness. She's very judgmental.
*She's so insecure that she should be walking around with a paper bag covering her face, and a trash bag covering her body.
*She's the type of person that always brings someone down from their happy high in life, making sure they're experiencing enough misery to her liking.
I had a hard time believing that Kiera was sexually active, considering she blushed at the drop of a fucking hat. In fact, I found it hard to believe that she could handle being naked in the shower.
Plot
Miss Kiera has a great relationship with Denny. The problem? He goes away for two months on business. Naturally, Kiera's upset about this. It only takes her a week before she's snuggling his best friend on the couch...so much for love, right? Even better? Shes snuggling up to him while they're out in public. The whole while this is going on, she is not feeling guilty about it. It does not occur to her that maybe she would be pissed off if Denny were to act this way. Denny then decides to take the job which would have him staying in Tuscon. Kiera would have to wait 2 years before she could be done with her degree and she could move to be with him. She decides she's not up for that, and calls it off. So, that night she fucks his best friend who she has been in a few compromising situations with. So, okay, they were no longer together, so I was slightly okay with that. I was annoyed, however, that she took it upon herself to destroy her boyfriend's friendship, though.
But, Denny decides he wants to make things work with Kiera, so he flies back to Seattle to be with her. Rather than tell Denny what happened between her and Kellen, she keeps it a secret. Kellen, who obviously likes her more than a fuck buddy, starts treating her like shit. Which was fucking awesome. Was I supposed to feel sorry for her? Because, yeah, I didn't. In fact, I think had this book been about how everything went to shit for Kiera, and how no one would ever love her lying, selfish, cheating ass ever again, I think I would have really loved this book.
The pacing of this book was excruciatingly slow. Nothing happened for the most of what I read, with the exception of her fucking Kellen twice.
The best thing about this book was Kiera's excuses. She was lonely, after 2 weeks of Denny being gone. She couldn't think, because she was blinded by Kellen's beauty. How many times it was stated how perfect and beautiful he was...oh, man, just yuck.
Kellen
You know, he was okay until he fucked Kiera. There is nothing attractive about a man who knowingly fucks someone else's girlfriend, especially someone they supposedly hold in high regard. The name of his band was fitting, because Kellen was a douche.
This asshole, was supposedly a womanizer. All the more reason to find him attractive, I suppose. Maybe we were supposed to jump on the bandwagon because every other woman was salivating over him. Not for me.
Denny
He was a sweet heart and it just broke my heart the way he was being treated. Here he is, trying to do right by Kiera, and there she is repaying him with deceit. I just loved how she rationalized that it was his choice to come back to her, which meant she wasn't doing anything wrong by being a self centered bitch.
Overall
This is glorifying and encouraging infidelity. It is disgusting. Kiera is disgusting. And yeah...No. Just no. I felt dirty reading this. I don't recommend this, unless of course you have no morals.
Read on July 31, 2013
A very interesting plot. It's pretty obvious what's going on...for the main plot, but it doesn't take away from the story any. I even enjoyed the crazy subplots. A very unique story, and it had a lot of potential. I just wasn't too much of a fan of Workman's writing.
The writing was rather bland and it didn't really flow very well. The dialogue was awkward at best. The monologue was stilted and came across as Workman trying too hard. There were also a few long winded descriptions of things that held little to no relevance to the story. Naturally, I skimmed those. Which accounted for a few chapters of the book. Toward the middle of the book the pace really slowed down and it got rather boring. It took a while for it to get back on track.
The perspectives of both plots were done well, I thought. Sophie reacted in ways I expected her to. Her feelings felt authentic and really connected with what was taking place.
The other characters are where I had issues. They didn't feel very supportive at all. A lot of interactions felt forced and out of place for what was happening. I also felt that Workman should have looked into how a lot of things worked--like investigations. I didn't feel like that was how that would go. And I guess, that can be explained away with the fact that it wasn't real...but still, it was irksome.
Toward the tail end of the book, Workman struggled a bit with getting her idea to life. Not enough was really explained. And you were more drug along a rather large information dump with a lack of connection to Sophie. She still reacted as one would expect, but I felt disconnected from her character. I guess it just wasn't written in a way to keep me hooked in the story. I really noticed that I was reading a book.
There were a few things that irked me. Sophie had a habit of asking what everything was that was handed to her. A picture..."What's this?" A gift..."What is it?"...Yeah...
Sophie also made a stupid error that caused her to become quite endangered, which really irritated me because she knew what would happen if she got herself in that situation. And still she went alone. Now, that, I didn't think was true to her character or circumstance, especially with what she was doing.
But overall, the book wasn't awful. The premise was a very good one, and I felt that the book really had a lot to offer. I don't know if I will read the next one or not, honestly. It doesn't really appeal to me.
Read from July 30 to 31, 2013
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