tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83418327788287382642024-02-06T20:40:01.071-08:00Blendy - The Book Nerdist (Honest reviews of the best, not so good & down right naughty books)Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-63149675116087512752015-05-27T04:59:00.000-07:002015-05-27T04:59:18.776-07:00Disturbed Earth (Ritual Crime Unit, #2) by E.E. Richardson<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "Is It Over Yet?" Stars</span></h2>
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<span id="freeText5162246532634155931"><span style="color: #444444;">A hard-nosed career officer in the male-dominated world of British policing, DCI Claire Pierce of North Yorkshire Police heads Northern England’s underfunded and understaffed Ritual Crime Unit. Injured in the line of duty, Pierce returns to work to find her new Detective Inspector has brought in a self-proclaimed necromancer to question the victim of a murder, there’s a coven of druids outside protesting the sale of their sacred site, and an old iron lantern in the evidence room has just sent out a signal.<br /><br />Pierce is going to have to hit the ground running. A suspected ritual murder and a string of puzzling artefact thefts initially seem unconnected, but signs point to something bigger: buried skulls possessed by evil spirits start turning up, and they may only be the beginning. Someone is planning something big, and the consequences if they succeed could be catastrophic. With a rebellious second-in-command, an inexperienced team, and a boss who only cares about potential bad publicity, Pierce has to make the connections and stop the ritual before it’s too late...</span></span></div>
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<span>This book was extremely difficult for me to finish. Not because it’s a bad book or anything, it’s just that it’s ridiculously boring! Honestly, I’m typically reading somewhere between one to two books a day, depending on what all I have going on and this book took me over TWO MONTHS to finish. I would pick it up, read a page or two, get bored, pick up another book, come back to it when I was done with that book, read a page or two…etc. My goodness, I don’t think it has ever taken me so long to finish a book, but at least I did finish it rather than give up on it like I was tempted to do a few times, so yay me!<br /><br />The actual premise of this book is pretty interesting and I really liked the fact that the main character is a bit older, which is a refreshing change from all the books I have picked up lately and that it takes place in England (a place on my bucket list) and if I was one that had a little bit more patience, then I might have really enjoyed it, but unfortunately I’m not and I didn’t. This to me was like watching a silent movie in black and white. There is nothing wrong with those movies and more often than not they have a pretty great story to tell, but it’s the monotony and uniformity where you will lose me every time. If you want to keep my attention, give me color, give me action, give me sound….give me something! A good story alone will not keep me interested, I need more and <em>Disturbed Earth</em> didn’t give me anything but a pretty good concept that was very monotone in its delivery.<br /><br />Overall, no…this isn’t going to be a book that I recommend, but readers who like a book with a little bit of a slower pace, might find that they enjoy this one. <br /><br />Happy reading, until next time…<br /><br />I would like to thank NetGalley and Rebellion for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.</span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-74547104123802718842015-05-26T04:04:00.002-07:002015-05-26T04:04:52.357-07:00Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic, #1) by Melissa F. Olson<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "Promising Start" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #444444;">After her twin sister’s brutal
murder, former US Army Sergeant Allison “Lex” Luther vowed to protect her
niece, Charlie. So when two vampires try to kidnap the baby, it quickly turns
into a fight to the death—Lex’s death, that is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #444444;">She wakes up to two shocking
discoveries: she has miraculously survived the fight, and baby Charlie is a
“null,” gifted with the ability to weaken supernatural forces...and a target
for creatures who want to control that power. Determined to guarantee her
niece’s safety, Lex makes a deal with the local vampires. She sets out with the
mysterious—and undead—“fixer” Quinn to track down whoever’s responsible for the
kidnapping, sharpening her newfound magic skills along the way. But the closer
she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her powers become.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><em><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Boundary
Crossed</span></em><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> is a dark,
thrilling journey into a world where the line between living and dead isn’t
nearly as solid as it appears...<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span id="freeTextreview1290052916">Sometimes, just sometimes we could all use and want to pick up a nice, “think-less” read. One of those books that just flows and doesn’t have too much drama. A book that isn’t out to emotionally gut you; one of those books that has just enough action to keep it interesting and just enough sexual tension to keep it exciting. Well, <em>Boundary Crossed</em> is just that book and seems to be a promising start to a new Urban Fantasy series, <em>Boundary Magic.</em><br /><br />“Lex” is a tough girl, who can take care of herself. She doesn’t make friends easily and the ones that she does have, she protects with her life, especially her family. So when Lex’s sister is killed, she will stop at nothing to get justice for her and protect her niece from succumbing to the same fate. It’s all so much easier said than done though, especially when a whole paranormal community is after her and hell bent on getting their hands on her niece. Making unlikely alliances and uncovering secrets and deceptions at every turn, it’s hard even for a tough-as-nails girl such as Lex to handle, but after several hard years in the Army, it’s going to take a little more than rabid werewolves, power hungry vampires and untrusting witches to keep Lex down. After all, she didn’t become a Sergeant in the US Army by being afraid and playing it safe and she soon shows those after her just how ruthless she can actually be.<br /><br /><em>Boundary Crossed</em> was a nice, fun read for me. Never having read a book by author Melissa Olson before, I really went into this without much expectation and was mildly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. I am always overly critical of “first books” in a series, because those books are going to be the deciding factors of whether or not I decide to keep on with a series. I need characters that I enjoy reading about, plots that aren’t too easily predictable or “used” up, intelligent writing and a storyline worth my attention, luckily this one had it all and it managed to keep me engaged from start to finish. I will say that I am probably being extra generous with my 4 star rating, but after a streak of reading some Urban Fantasy books that were complete disappointments, I was pretty excited to find one that I didn’t hate.</span></div>
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<span><br />Overall, yes, I recommend this one. I can’t say that it ranks up there with my favorites in the genre, however, it does deliver as far as readability is concerned and I will be picking up the next one in the series once available. Those that are fans of the Urban Fantasy genre should consider giving this one a shot. If you can go into it without too much expectation, I think you will actually enjoy it.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time…</span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-2188626709656780972015-05-24T06:47:00.000-07:002015-05-24T06:47:22.659-07:00Made You Up by Francesca Zappia<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "Wait, What?" Stars</span></h2>
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<span id="freeText17908440539007519039"><span style="color: #444444;">Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, <em>Silver Linings Playbook</em>, and <em>Liar</em>.<br /><br />Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. <br /><br />Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.</span></span><br />
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<span></span><br /><br /><strong><em>Eintstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I kept taking pictures, hoping I’d look at one and know its subject was a hallucination. I did my perimeter checks, thinking I’d eventually be able to walk around paranoia-free. I spent every day hoping someone would tell me I smelled like lemons.<br /> If I wasn’t insane by anyone else’s definition, I figured I was at least insane by Einstein’s.</em></strong> <br /><br /><em>Made You Up</em> is the debut novel by author Francesca Zappia and for the most part, I applaud her efforts and found that I enjoyed the book more than I did not. Based off of this book, I will definitely add Ms. Zappia as an author to read and I look forward to see what other books she releases to mess with my mind. <span><br /><br />A saying that I never really understood is when someone says “they scratched their head in confusion.” I am often confused, some might say I live in a state of confusion, but I don’t think that I have ever really scratched my head because of it. If I have, then I do it without realizing it – something that I will pay closer attention to from now on, but in any case, this book had me doing the proverbial “confused head scratch” the whole time. THE.WHOLE.TIME. Much like our unreliable narrator in this story, Alex, I was fumbling around trying to make heads or tails of everything that was going on and I had not a clue as to what to believe or not believe while reading and I learned never to take anything that Ms. Zappia had written at face value. </span><br />
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<br /><br />I am not schizophrenic (clinically), nor do I know anyone that has clinically been declared schizophrenic, but if the depiction of this illness in this book is to be believed and portrayed correctly, then damn…just DAMN. Storyline and plot aside, this book was a huge eye opener for me when it comes to the daily struggles and life of a schizophrenic. Life is hard enough to navigate on its own, I can’t imagine how hard it would be adding not being able to trust your own mind into the mix. <br /><br />Alex is a teenage girl with normal teenage girl problems, but those problems are the least of Alex’s worries and are only the beginning of Alex’s daily struggles. Classified as a paranoid schizophrenic, nothing about Alex or her life can be trusted, because there is a good possibility that none of it is real. Armed with a camera and determined not to let her illness get the best of her, Alex starts a new school with a clean slate. No one at this school knows her secret, no one at this school knows the details of why she had to leave her last school and no one at this school calls her crazy. No one yet anyway. Trying hard to keep a solid grip on reality, we journey with Alex as she faces her challenges head on, but when a sinister plot at her new school slowly becomes apparent, Alex must become the most unlikely hero in her own story. Filled with mystery, intrigue, truths, half-truths and delusion, <em>Made You Up</em> will have you questioning your own grasp on reality while trying to discern truth from fiction.<br /><br />I will be very upfront with you when I say, <em>Made You Up</em> is weird. So very weird. I was constantly second guessing my own storyline theories and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story would then throw another twist my way that made me second guess myself all over again. It would be one thing if all schizophrenic illusions were easily identified based on the doubtful actuality and physical existence of the forms/situations encountered, but to be probable and likely forms/situations, it really was exhausting! For example, if Alex was to walk down the street and see a hot pink unicorn, eating a cupcake, wearing a tutu and reciting the alphabet, I could more easily view that as an illusion caused by the schizophrenia, but when normal (I use this term loosely) people, situations and conversations occur that are in fact illusions, I found myself quickly weary of everyone and everything in this book.<br /><br />Overall, yes, I recommend this book to read. It’s weird, it’s compelling, it’s different and mostly, it’s nothing like anything I have ever read before. I have taken on my share of “weird” reads, but this one ranks right up there close to the top and I think it should be experienced by everyone. It may not be one that you mark as one of your favorites and you may hate it, but I don’t think that anyone that reads it will be sorry that they did. If anything, it’s one of those books that makes you think and sometimes those are the best kind.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time… </div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-42390763675196290162015-05-17T18:09:00.000-07:002015-05-17T18:09:30.151-07:00Never Never: Part Two (Never Never, #2) by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "I want more right now" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #444444;">“Never forget that I was your first real kiss.
Never forget that you’ll be my last. <br />
And never stop loving me between all of them. <br />
Never stop, Charlie. <br />
Never forget.” <br />
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Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter
together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others
begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge
the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love
yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can't imagine, beckons to
be found. <br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Bravo Ms. Hoover and Ms. Fisher, you have done it yet again – completely captivated me with your writing and words.<br /><br />In this second episode (I use that term, because just like book one, book two is a very short read) of the <em>Never Never</em> trilogy, things pick up exactly where book one left us hanging. I actually went back and read the last couple of chapters of book one, just to have everything fresh in my mind before I started on this one and I’m glad that I did, it really helped to set my mood and anticipation again. If you haven’t read <em>Never Never: Book One</em>, then you will need to start there. This one is not a stand-alone and things are already confusing enough within the storyline, you won’t want to add any extra confusion, trust me. Don’t worry though, book one is GREAT and it’s short, it’s completely worth the time and the read.<br /><br /><em><strong>“I know that’s weird, but that’s what you love about me. You love how much I love you. Because yes, I love you way too much. More than anyone deserves to be loved. But I can’t help it. You make normal love hard. You make me psycho-love you.”</strong> </em><br /><br />In this second episode, we get yet another piece of the puzzle that is <em>Never Never</em>. Even after reading this, I’m at a loss as to what is really going on (though I have a few hunches), but as with the other books that I have read from both Ms. Hoover and Ms. Fisher, nothing and everything is as it seems. I can see the final picture taking form, but yet things are still aggravatingly out of focus. We are given just enough in this one to think, hmmmm….maybe, but not enough to form any solid conclusions. The little clues dropped here and there are infuriating. I WANT to figure this out! The truth is like a carrot dangling in front of me…errrrr…actually, I don’t like carrots much, so let’s instead use cake, yes I like cake, that will do. It’s like a cake dangling in front of me, urging me to keep reaching for it, but all the while, staying just outside my grasp. There are so many ways that Ms. Hoover and Ms. Fisher can take this story and I’m excited (and impatient) to see how it all wraps up. <br /><br />Silas and Charlie have lost their memories yet again, only this time Charlie is missing and Silas has to begin at square one alone. With the added pressure of trying to find Charlie on top of trying to digest, figure out and fix what has happened to them, all within the span of 48-hours, Silas’s world starts closing in on him. Trying to keep up appearances for both his and Charlie’s sakes and trying to keep the rest of the world clueless as to their all too real problem that he’s sure no one would believe, because he can hardly believe and comprehend it himself, things finally become too much. With the police now involved and the suspicion of his parents and peers mounting by the moment, Silas is forced to reveal his and Charlie’s secret, the one thing he never wanted to do. Can he trust who he told? Is there anyone that he can even trust in all of this? With every answer that he gets, a bigger question is posed and with every step he takes in order to get the truth, he also takes a step closer to when his time will run out and he and Charlie are forced to start everything all over, yet again. I was hooked!<br /><br />So, this series reminds me a bit of the movie, <em>Fifty First Dates</em>. Well, minus the comedy, the storyline, the characters, the plot, the…okay, okay, it is NOTHING like <em>Fifty First Dates</em>, except the whole memory loss aspect. But anyway, I remember when I first watched that movie, I thought how sucky it would be to wake up every day and have no memory of anyone you met or anything you did past a certain point in your life and how scary it would be to read about you, by you. Not to mention the trust that you have to learn all in a day to be able to believe that the people around you are sincere and not taking advantage of you. All, so you can turn around and do it again the next day. How exhausting. But now, after reading <em>Never Never</em>, I think I would much prefer Drew Barrymore’s life in that movie, because even though she would have to learn to trust people daily, at least she had people that she could trust. I don’t know how I would deal with experiencing all that initial shock and then having to digest everything if I was all alone. Wow, I think sucky doesn’t cover how bad that situation would stink.<br /><br />Overall, yes, this is a definite must read. Both episodes one and two are fantastically written and the story itself is addicting. The only complaint that I had about the first one and I have again about this one, is the shortness of each one and that’s really only because I’m such a selfish B* and want MORE and MORE and MORE. I feel like such a petulant child right now, full pout in place, angry red cheeks, with both arms outstretched, fists opening and clenching, screaming, “GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME!” That is what these books do to me, they bring out my inner she-devil, the little tantrum throwing child. *sigh* Off I go, to find other books now to fill the time until I can get my hands on part three.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time… </span></span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-75948329518289358822015-05-17T04:11:00.003-07:002015-05-17T13:05:28.667-07:00Bridged by Love by Nancy Corrigan<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "Just Didn't Do It for me" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="color: #444444;">Follow his head, he breaks her
heart. Follow his heart… he breaks his pack.</span></span></strong><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><span style="color: #444444;">
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From the moment he was born, Nic Kagan’s future was sealed. He’ll accept a
mate, have kids, and eventually take over his father’s role as pack alpha.
There’s just one problem.<br />
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Long ago, his heart settled on Riley, the pack’s human doctor and honorary
member. Except only half of him can have her. The other half—his wolf—won’t
give a weak non-shifter female a second sniff.<br />
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No one—human or shifter—has left a mark on Riley’s soul like Nic. But with his
father hospitalized, any hope things could work out between them is slipping
away. Yet Riley understands something else about pack life. Power isn’t always
a physical gift; love is just as strong. What she and Nic have is worth
fighting for.<br />
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With rival threats mounting, Nic realizes he can’t simply turn his back on
Riley. Though his wolf could tear his heart out for it, he must fight for what
he wants before he loses his mate. His pack. Maybe even his sanity.<br />
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</span><em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="color: #444444;">Warning: Contains a reluctant alpha with only
one roadblock between his heart and the woman he loves—biology. And a woman who
isn’t giving up on him, even if it means risking her life to fool Mother Nature.</span><br />....................</span></em></span> </div>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Where do I even start? I’m a sucker for a good shifter novel. If I could have my way, then my significant other would be a were-lion. This could be why I’m still single though, but hey….a girl can dream right?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Give me a blurb with a were-shifter in the mix and add a love story and I’m putty in your hands. 80% of having me love the book is already accomplished, all you have to do now is make it an interesting story with good writing and I’m a fan. I don’t ask for much, but it seems I asked for too much from this one and I was left terribly disappointed. After reading this, I didn’t want a were-anything in my life, especially not a wolf. I blame the likes of Ilona Andrews (who can even make me lust after a were-hyena for goodness sake), Laura K. Hamilton in her earlier novels and Patricia Briggs – all of whom (noted but not excluded to) have made me a were-lover. I think if you are going to jump on the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal author train, you need to read what others have delivered and either go as big (if not bigger) or go home.</span></span></div>
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As I have ALWAYS said with books that I give less than stellar ratings to, this in no way reflects my feelings toward the author. Writing a book is hard work, emotional and often times personal and I’m merely just one voice in the crowd of millions that will read and review this book, it just so happens that my review on this one isn’t glowing. It will not stop me from reading any future titles from this author and I hope that readers will read this one and judge it for themselves, but in the business of reading and reviewing books, I need to be honest and tell it how I feel it.<br />
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I didn’t immediately start off disliking this book, it was actually toward about the 60% mark that I found myself really done with the plot and storyline and ready to just get to the end and mark it off as a read book. Contrary to popular belief, throwing a bunch of intense humping and hot guys into a book is not going to make me like it. I do want some substance and a main heroine that I can cheer for. This book gave me a lot of the former and a lot less of the later and try as I might to enjoy it, I just didn’t.<br />
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By the end, I really didn’t like our main character, she was just too selfish and annoying, it really bothered me and the side cast of characters….I could have done without the lot of them and the additional questions/drama they brought with their appearance. The story itself was appealing, but the execution and everything else is what failed in my opinion. I don’t know if maybe a better editor would have made a difference, but I know it wouldn’t have hurt. Some of inconsistencies within the story and character actions bugged me and if those details had been resolved before my reading this; that might have made all the difference in the world.<br />
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Overall, no, this is not a book I recommend, there are just so many better ones out there to be read. I will always try to point out the good in a book though before I end my reviews and the good in this, Ms. Corrigan does offer an interesting take on the were/shifter theory. It wasn't one that I had read before and with all the were/shifter books out there, that is pretty impressive.<br />
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Happy reading, until next time book nerds…</div>
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Samhain Publishing for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.</div>
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Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-59533157486549877382015-05-16T23:34:00.000-07:002015-05-16T23:34:56.502-07:00Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "I Saw the Beauty in the Ugly" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #444444;">When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third
birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a
house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out
why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at
her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be
found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a
game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #444444;">....................</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Have you ever noticed how there is a certain ugliness in too much perfection and yet a subtle beauty in flaws? That is how I feel about <em>Mud Vein</em> by Tarryn Fisher. This is not a perfect book, but within each dark and disturbing scene there is an honesty and within the twisted and unsettling story, there is beauty.<br /><br /><em><strong>“You’ve been silent your whole life. You were silent when we met, silent when you suffered. Silent when life kept hitting you. I was like that too, a little. But not like you. You are stillness. And I tried to move you. It didn’t work. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t move me. I heard everything you didn’t say. I heard it so loudly that I couldn’t shut it off. Your silence, Senna, I hear it so loudly.”</strong> </em><br /><br />The first time that I had ever heard of Tarryn Fisher, is when I picked up and read, <em>Never Never</em>, a novel co-written by both her and Colleen Hoover. Given how much I actually loved that particular read and having read some of Ms. Hoover’s other books, I decided to read one by Ms. Fisher and I’m really glad that I did.<br /><br /><em>Mud Vein</em> is a love story, but as I say that, in that same breath I will tell you that it isn’t, it’s so much more than that. If your idea of a love story is passionate sex, roses, the waxing of poetic words, HEA’s and perfect heroines and heroes, then this will definitely not classify as a love story to you, it doesn’t have any of that, but yet… <br /><br />Filled with intrigue and classified as almost too weird to read on my book list, <em>Mud Vein</em>, pushes the limits of human reasoning and explores the human psyche in a unique and disturbing way. From the very beginning of this book, I was immediately guessing as to what was going on. I needed to figure it out before I reached the end of the book, I wanted to be able to say, “Ha-ha! I already knew that! You can’t get me Ms. Fisher.” But she did “get” me and even though I kept reading page after page, waiting for the next shoe to drop, it never really did and I liked that. In telling such a twisted story, she kept me engaged from the start and kept my mind swirling with possibilities throughout, only really to end it in the most anti-climactic fashion. After going through a myriad of emotions that began at the opening page, it seemed that Ms. Fisher then gave her readers a simple peace at the end, which was unexpected, but welcome.<br /><br /><em><strong>“I folded the page over and over until it was the size of my thumbnail, square upon square upon square. Then I ate it.”</strong> </em><br /><br />This story is really unlike any that I have read before. Yes, the basic premise is one that can be categorized with other books in publication. Girl and boy meet, girl and boy try to disparage and fight their feelings for one another, then girl and boy experience something together that causes them to realize and express their feelings to one another, but that is about where the similarities end. Ms. Fisher puts her own spin on things and the result is definitely read worthy. <br /><br />I can’t say that I really liked Senna, our heroine in this story, but by the end of the book I understood her and in doing so, I came to appreciate her. She was weird, hard to relate with, annoying and often times almost too eccentric to believe, but the vulnerability within her, shown to us in rare moments and actions, are the moments that I held onto and that is what struck a chord within me. I have never been as eclectic as Senna, nor have I ever been as closed off or aloof, but I have been that “scared little girl” wanting nothing more than acceptance and once I saw that, all of her other character flaws muted in their vibrancy and I started to see things in a new light.<br /><br /><em><strong>“As far as I was concerned children had bipolar disorder. They were angry, unpredictable, emotional ambulance-sirens with pigtails, grubby hands and food-crusted mouths that twisted from smiles to frowns and back again as quick as a breath. No, thank you very much. If I wanted a three-foot warlord as my master, I’d hire a rabid monkey to do the job."</strong> </em><br /><br />As I stated before, this is a love story and it’s not a love story. There is so much wrong that happens in this story and yet, so much right, but at the root of it all, there is love. It begins in love and it ends in love, regardless of all the messed up in between. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><em><strong>“Tell me a lie, Isaac.”<br />His fingertips trace a curlicue on my shoulder.<br />“I don’t love you.”</strong> </em><br /><br />Overall, yes, I recommend this book. It’s not typical and some parts will make you shake your head wondering, “What in <em>the hell</em> am I reading?” But I think that if you are able to momentarily lower your guard and acclimate yourself into a mind that is as damaged as it is flawed, you will also see the underlying meaning behind it and the beauty within it. Too often we resent so much the down pour of rain upon our heads, that we never see the beauty of the rainbow it yields.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time book nerds…</span></span></span></span></div>
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Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-13300002806991927442015-05-13T12:29:00.001-07:002015-05-13T12:29:37.436-07:00The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1) by Renee Ahdieh<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">5 "Arabian Lure" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></div>
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love story inspired by </span></strong><em><b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A Thousand and One Nights</span></b></em></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #444444;">
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Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer.
Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night
only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when
sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a
clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her
best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her
through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s
falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.<br />
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She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither
are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for
the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.</span><br />....................</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">I actually finished this book yesterday, but
when I tried to type out my review, I noticed that my emotions were a little
all over the place and my review was not making a lick of sense, so I slept on
it and here I am, trying again – here’s hoping for the best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">When I started this book, I actually went into
it a little blind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having foregone my
typical pre-reading ritual, I did not read, seek out or otherwise know anything
on what the book was based or regarding and I think it worked out in favor for
the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, after reading
this book I realized that it was inspired by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Thousand and One Nights</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arabian
Nights</i> (as some might know it) and that’s not a title that I am familiar
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had I known this beforehand, I’m
fairly certain that I would have gotten a copy and read it prior to reading
this one, which in turn would have ended up giving me a base comparison on
which to judge and that normally doesn’t end well for the “inspired by” or “retold”
books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, not having any prior
information or prior knowledge of the original before reading, I found myself
really loving this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">“One hundred lives for the one you took.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One life to one dawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should you fail but a single morn, I shall
take from you your dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shall take
from you your city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I shall take
from you these lives, a thousandfold.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">A curse born of hate and a nation in dissent
and unrest, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wrath and the Dawn</i> is
a novel charged with mystery, heart break, cunning and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With ruthless leaders plotting and grief
stricken families hell-bent on revenge, the world is falling into chaos and in
the midst of it all, we find just one boy and one girl with an unbidden love so
fierce, that it threatens to destroy them and everyone around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I started reading this book, I could not
put it down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">“This boy-king, this murderer…she would not permit him to
destroy another family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To rob another
girl of her best friend-of a lifetime filled with memories that had been and
never would be.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Despite the wonderful storytelling and writing
within the book, it was the actual character’s themselves that held me captive
and kept me their very willing prisoner till the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And speaking of the end, something else that
should be of note, something else I failed to find out until the end of this
book due to my lack of research beforehand, is that this book is a saga…sooooo….it
ends in a somewhat cliffhanger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
pretty sure that my neighbors heard my scream of “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” across the
way when I came to this point and if they are book nerds as well, I’m sure they
recognized that wail for what it was, if not, then that could account for the weird
looks I was receiving this morning. Regardless, don’t start this if you are one
that likes your books closed up nice and tidy by the end, because by the end of
this book – that is when things are really getting started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">“A mere trinket?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love is
a force unto itself, sayyidi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For love,
people consider the unthinkable…and often achieve the impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would not sneer at its power.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The Wrath and the Dawn</span></i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> is a beautifully
written story with a myriad of loveable and not so loveable characters that are
certain to entertain you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in a time
and place that I myself am unfamiliar with, a few of the terms and items in the
book flew right over my head and had me going, “Errr…the what?” However, Ms.
Ahdieh has graciously provided a glossary in the back pages of the book for the
readers like me and it is a great reference for those moments you find yourself
thinking the same as I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know it
was there until I reached the end and had I known, it would have saved me a lot
of time I spent “googling” things, so you’re welcome!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">“Lost forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this
kiss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This kiss that would change
everything”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Overall, yes, yes, yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I absolutely recommend this to everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it has a little something to offer
readers of all types and though it is mostly considered a YA Fantasy read and
both the main characters are between the ages of 16-17, the story and writing
are so compelling, that even those factors become background noise to the story
itself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Happy reading, until next time...</span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-60186380019108334422015-05-11T17:37:00.000-07:002015-05-13T00:47:34.696-07:00Rook by Sharon Cameron<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "You Had Me at Hello, but Lost Me Right After That" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> -<br /><br />History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she. <br /> <br /> As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;">....................</span></span></div>
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<em>Rook</em> is a modern day twist and reimagining of the original play and adventure novel, <em>The Scarlet Pimpernel</em> by Emma Orczy and for all of you kiddo’s out there scratching your heads, asking “The Scarlet Pimper-<em>what</em>??” The only thing I can say is, “Go look it up and stop making feel so old!”<br />
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Though<em> Rook</em> is set in a time period that takes place in the not too distant future, the world that we are actually immersed into and the actions of the characters read more reminiscent of the Victorian and Regency Era time periods. Rather than the typical scientific and technological advances that most author’s incorporate into a futuristic set piece, Ms. Cameron actually sets the world as taking several steps backwards in those areas and puts a slightly different spin on futuristic ideas. The theory itself was quite interesting and provided a different depiction from the norm, but it still took my mind a moment or two to accustom itself to having guillotine-style public executions, horse drawn carriages and engagement balls, all in the same sentence with Nintendo controllers and DVDs. It was almost like watching a historic time period drama on television and noticing a plane fly through the air in the back ground or a watch on someone’s wrist, not because it’s supposed to be there, but rather the editor just didn’t catch it. It was a little weird, but I did enjoy the concept.<br />
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Unfortunately though,<em> Rook</em> failed in its execution for me and I was left feeling unimpressed and cheated by the time I got to the end. This book did manage to trick me though, for about the first 50% and I was pretty sure that I loved it, until the storyline started becoming so convoluted and drawn out and the writing so sloppy, that I just started skimming through the pages just to get to the end. Our main heroine, Sophia, who started off and is supposed to be a bold, cunning and smart character, ended up really being just an immature, not so smart and unlikable character to me….actually all the characters did. It was almost like all the characters who I found myself really enjoying in the beginning half of the book, decided mid-story to take a big, heaping shot of stupid and the resulting last half of the book suffered because of it. I’m not too sure what happened with the writing either. The once interesting and readable story, turned rather choppy in its delivery and the ever increasing POV changes towards the end gave me reader’s whiplash.<br />
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Overall, no, this isn’t going to be a book that I recommend. It was a valiant effort and an interesting take on a classic story, but that is about where my positive feelings about it end. As for the other ratings and reviews of this book, I’m not surprised to find my opinion to be in the minority, but I am surprised by the amount of readers who are fans of <em>The Scarlet Pimpernel</em>, that said that they enjoyed this one. As a huge fan of the original myself, I found that I was rather disappointed, but I’m pretty interested to see what other fans think. <br />
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Happy reading, until next time...Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-65651359111238935422015-05-10T01:14:00.000-07:002015-05-10T01:14:42.109-07:00One Percenter by D. R. Graham<h2 align="center">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "Don't Tell Me What to Do" Stars</span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24761164-one-percenter"><img alt="One Percenter" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422618747l/24761164.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span><br />
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<span id="freeText18336450272555481893"><span style="color: #444444;">99% of bikers obey the law. The other 1% make their own...<br />Eighteen-year-old Tienne Desrochers grew up in the rough world of the Noir et Bleu Motorcycle Club. Bikers. Family. Outlaws. But after her dad's murder, Tienne decides she's had enough. She refuses to end up like her drug-addicted mom. So she grabs her younger brother and leaves it all behind...including her boyfriend, Aiden Gyllenhall.<br /><br />More comfortable in the middle of a bar fight than at a country club, living with her wealthy aunt and uncle is an adjustment, to say the least. No swearing. Designer shoes that pinch. And charming corporate types like Leland Crofton instead of super-sexy, tattooed Aiden. But even the upper class can't escape the toxic touch of underworld violence. And this time, Tienne won't just learn who she really is—she'll learn who has her back.<br /><br />Book #1 in the Noir et Bleu Motorcycle Club series</span></span><br />
<span><span style="color: #444444;">....................</span></span><br />
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<span>As the old adage goes, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” But is it really?<br /><br />Growing up with absent parents and under the thumb of the notorious Noir et Bleu Motorcycle Club, Tienne Desrochers has only ever known heartache and brutality. As the sole provider for her and her brother Cooper, Tienne dreams of a better life and that chance comes in the form of her Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Blaine. Not being one who likes being told what to do though, living the life as a socialite and rubbing elbows with the upper crust of society is not easy, especially when the man she loves, Aiden Gyllenhall, is the son of the President of the MC she wants no part of and walked away from.<br /><br />It needs to be said that I am a SUCKER for a good Motorcycle Club story. I’m an SOA junky and have fantasies of riding off into the sunset on the back of a bike, with my arms tucked securely around my man, while he is wearing his leather cut. Now, I know that things are not always rosy and romantic when it comes to Motorcycle Clubs and One Percenter is a stark reminder of that. <br /><br />When the glitzy and glamorous world of social elitist and the dark, dangerous world of Motorcycle Club life collide, no one is safe, least of all Tienne and if she plans to make it out alive and with her heart intact, hard choices have to be made and the repercussions could be deadly.<br /><br />One Percenter is a reminder that no matter where you go and no matter what you leave behind, no one is ever really safe. Everyone has their dark secrets and their own demons in the closet, so sometimes running to the greener pastures from the devil you know, is not always good as it seems.<br /><br />While reading this book, I found myself getting very agitated with Tienne and her selfish behavior, but I had to remind myself that she really is only just a young girl and trying to survive in a world that hasn’t been kind to her. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves a good story with a little bit of mystery and a lot of heart. <br /><br />As for me I’m already planning my wedding to Gylly, he had me at hello.<br /><br />Happy reading and until next time…<br /><br />I would like to thank NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.</span></div>
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Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-12558116473931413302015-05-10T01:10:00.000-07:002015-05-10T01:10:45.135-07:00The One that Got Away by Simon Wood<h2 align="center">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "Meh" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Graduate students Zoë and Holli only mean to blow off some steam on their road trip to Las Vegas. But something goes terribly wrong on their way home, and the last time Zoë sees her, Holli is in the clutches of a sadistic killer. Zoë flees with her life, changed forever.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">A year later and still tortured with guilt, Zoë latches on to a police investigation where the crime eerily resembles her abduction. Along with a zealous detective, she retraces the steps of that fateful night in the desert, hoping that her memory will return and help them find justice for Holli. Her abductor—labeled the “Tally Man” by a fascinated media—lies in wait for Zoë. For him, she is not a survivor but simply the one that got away.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">With an unforgettable heroine, a chillingly disturbed psychopath, and a story that moves at breakneck speed, <em>The One That Got Away</em> is thriller writer Simon Wood at his finest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><table border="0" cellspacing="1" id="myReview" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><th valign="top"></th><td colspan="1"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1194330606" style="display: none;">Suffering from survivors remorse and guilt from leaving her friend behind in the hands of a sadistic serial killer, Zoe manages to take life day by day, not really living, but not ready to give up just yet. When a murder happens close to home that is reminiscent of the horrors she saw when she was abducted, Zoe has no choice but to try and help solve this crime and bring the murderer in for justice. <br /><br />This book managed to keep me involved from start to finish, but the obvious fumbling's and mishan</span> <span id="freeTextreview1194330606">Suffering from survivors remorse and guilt from leaving her friend behind in the hands of a sadistic serial killer, Zoe manages to take life day by day, not really living, but not ready to give up just yet. When a murder happens close to home that is reminiscent of the horrors she saw when she was abducted, Zoe has no choice but to try and help solve this crime and bring the murderer in for justice. <br /><br />This book managed to keep me involved from start to finish, but the obvious fumbling's and mishandling of the crime by the police force in this book left a bad taste in my mouth. Not because I was mad at the cops, but more so the way the author portrayed them. I was wanting a Lt. Joe Kenda, but was instead given a Barney Fife with a couple of bumbling idiots as his deputies. I cannot pretend to know how an investigation would actually be handled, seeing as how I am not a cop, but I do watch a lot of CSI, NCIS and the ID channel and it was hard for me to believe that some of the "missed" clues or lack of initiative shown by the police is how things would really be handled in reality. Maybe a hundred years ago, but not now. With that hanging over my head, I wasn't able to truly enjoy the book. </span></span><br />
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<span class="readable reviewText"><br />I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick, entertaining read in the mystery crime genre, but I wouldn't expect too much from this book. <br /><br />Happy Reading! Until next time...</span></td></tr>
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</span>Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-60361221611599348762015-05-09T09:33:00.000-07:002015-05-11T00:52:48.556-07:00A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "I Want More" Stars</span></o:p></h2>
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<span id="freeText1495007455129842601"><span style="color: #444444;"><strong>A thrilling, seductive new series from <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending <em>Beauty and the Beast</em> with faerie lore.</strong><br /><br />When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.<br /><br />As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.<br /><br />Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!</span></span></div>
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“There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,<br /> And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,<br /> But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,<br /> But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,<br /> When I kill, I do it slow …”<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">One of the things that I fear and hate the most, is when I come across a book that has terribly high and disgustingly gushy reviews, because in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">most </i></b>cases that is a sure sign to me that I’m going to have a problem with it and most likely hate it (i.e.<em> Twilight, Thoughtless, Gabriel’s Inferno</em>, etc…).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps some could see that as a complete lack of taste on my part, but instead, I prefer to think myself a rebel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Whatever the case or cause though, you can then understand my excitement and reluctance when I came across this title with all of its glittering reviews and 5 star ratings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was reluctant because I wasn’t looking forward to spending a few hours of my life stuck in a book world that I loathed, but I was excited in the same breathe hoping that this might be one that actually managed to make me feel the same as everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happily, this one fell into the latter category and I am still reeling from all the feelings that it suddenly made me fall into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will say though, that the first 75% or so of the book, I had feared that I found yet another “dud” book to add to my “Hated It” list, but the last 25% of this book really saved it for me and transformed it into a “must read” in my opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Rather than going into what the book is actually about, because that can easily be deduced by reading the back cover blurb, I’m going to do something a little different and list out the things I didn’t like and the things that I did…I will start with the dislikes first:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insta-love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would seem the older and more jaded I get in my age, the whole insta-love phenomenon that tends to happen in books becomes less romantic to me and a whole lot more annoying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This to me though shouldn’t be confused with love at first sight, because even though they are closely related, insta-love happens more so after a few chapters as opposed to a few pages and though I don’t like either one, I can stomach insta-love a bit more than the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our main heroine’s propensity for suffering from watery bowels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it isn’t as bad as I am making it out to be, but every single time that Feyre’s bowels turned watery, it stuck with me and not in a good way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The main heroine, Feyre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found that I was constantly having to remind myself how young our MC really is, because her complete stupidity and annoying nature really grated my nerves on more than a few occasions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Okay, now what I liked:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhysand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seem to have a thing for the bad boys in a book/movie and Rhys is no exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sexy beast grabbed and held onto my attention, regardless of his terribleness and I found myself rooting for him no matter who he was killing or what he was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everything else in the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Okay, so readers that enjoy YA/Fantasy novels, this one is definitely for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled with romance, intrigue, drama and supernatural beings, this could easily rank up there with the bests in the genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If YA or Fantasy isn’t really your thing, but you have been interested in trying it…here you go, I would absolutely recommend that you start with this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there is one more thing that I wanted to add to my dislike list, it would be that I have to wait till next year to get part two…but until then, I’ll be happily awaiting it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Happy reading, until next time…</span></span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-59427639090851468402015-04-29T02:02:00.000-07:002015-05-09T21:50:39.276-07:00Hate F*@k: Part Three by Ainsley Booth<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Hailey:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><span style="color: #444444;">
In the blink of an eye, everything changed, and I can’t pretend I don’t need
Cole anymore.<br />
He’s my heart and soul, but he’s shut me out, and I’m scared.<br />
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Keeping Hailey at arms’ length used to be an annoying challenge. Now it’s a
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I want vengeance. And then I want Hailey to be mine, forever.</span></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: black;">“How am I this lucky?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He literally saves my life and lets me grope him to my heart’s content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m done feeling sorry for myself.”<o:p></o:p></span></em></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I would first like to take this opportunity to have a moment of silence, as we say good-bye to Hailey and Cole, as this book brings an end to the beloved Hate F*@k series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>… *sniffle*…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Okay, now let’s get down to business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My rating of this last installment is actually my final rating of the series as a whole, because let’s be real, all three installments are fairly short and together, they would make one kick-ass novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the author, she wrote them in serial installments, because that is how they read to her, more mini-series-ish and who are we to judge how an author feels her work should be delivered? Not me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, actually I did and I do and I would have MUCH preferred all three of these in one book, but I’m happy regardless of how they came out and Ms. Booth has said that all three will be available in ONE paperback this summer, so YAY…a book I will definitely be adding to my bookshelf once available and one you should be adding as well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<em>“Is this an orgy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I regret not discussing hard limits before, because if I’m going to have group sex, I don’t think I want any skinny blondes involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which probably isn’t fair to them, but I’m feeling kind of fragile.”<o:p></o:p></em></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I’ll start this review, just like I did my other reviews of the last two books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are sensitive to sexual material, then you need to be warned…there is a lot of it in this book and it is very, VERY detailed, so please take that into consideration before reading this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m typically pretty immune when it comes to reading “smutty” novels, I tend to have a “if you’ve read about one quivering member, then you’ve read about them all” kind of mentality, but even I managed to blush a few times while reading this, so fair warning and also, this is NOT a stand-alone book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will need to read both books one and two to understand anything that is really going on in three and I recommend that you read them all back to back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of the first installment of this series and sadly I had my hopes and expectations unexpectedly dashed on the second one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I promised myself that I wouldn’t get too hyped about the release of this one in order not to set my expectations up too high and I think that worked really well for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, don’t get me wrong, I totally stalked Ms. Booth on Facebook and was CONSTANTLY checking for the release date of this book, but hey, I’m a complete fan-girl, it’s what we do – I couldn’t help it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hate F*@k: Part Three</i> picks up immediately where part two left off, so if you are having problems remembering that huge cliff hanger at the end of book two, re-read the last few pages before starting this one, because things get right down to business in the beginning of this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t get into much detail about what this book is actually about (don’t want to give away any spoilers), so instead I want to comment on the writing style and ending of the book/series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<em>“Oh God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sister wants to be spanked by my bodyguard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is unacceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I said, I totally get it.”<o:p></o:p></em></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Though I really enjoyed reading this last installment and found myself pretty satisfied with the way things ended, I did feel like this last installment was a bit rushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted a full-hour, no commercial break, series finale – instead I felt like I got a 30-minute, commercial laden, episode…regardless, I still loved it and the series as a whole is fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Booth has an unapologetic, in your face, sexually detailed writing style and though I found myself skipping past a few of the more detailed scenes, the ones I did read are steamy and HOT…the “you may want to keep a set of fresh panties nearby while reading this” kind of hot, so be ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<em>“Who am I kidding?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always has the upper hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I can do is hold on for dear life.”<o:p></o:p></em></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Something else important that I feel needs to be addressed, is that each of these books alone are an easy and quick read, so you should not find yourself overly perplexed or binge drinking vodka (or your poison of choice) at eight in the morning due to book induced anxiety or stress (I KNOW I can’t be the ONLY one that this happens to!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With so many of the books that I have read as of late, it seems a common theme amongst a lot of them is to shock and awe its readers into such a state, that we either have a 'rage the complete fuck out' episode and fuel our alcoholic (or whatever vice) tendencies or it wants to turn us into some completely unmanageable beastly brute…or all of the above and that is something that is quickly becoming tiresome and overplayed in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s nice to finally read something that still evokes emotions from me, without trying to cripple me emotionally and/or send me completely over the edge via mental breakdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often times our reality is grizzly enough without having a fictional scenario or world tear us down further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<em>“Cole leans over me and kisses me hard on the lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’ll know the difference, and if I don’t, let’s use Jason as a safe word.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let out a watery “Ha”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, that would stop pretty much any sexy times on a dime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Deal.”<o:p></o:p></em></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hate F*@k Series</i>, is a delightfully dirty and deliciously fun journey that everyone should enjoy and experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled with humor, loveable characters and creative writing, I found this complete series to be a win-win amongst all the competitors out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who doesn’t like sexy and fun?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Overall, I LOVED this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would absolutely recommend it to everyone to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said though, if overly sexual or sexually detailed books are not your forte, then this series will not be for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those readers out there that enjoy erotic romance books with a slice of humor and a slice of sass, then this series should rank right up there with your favorites, as it does with mine!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Happy reading, until next time…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I would like to thank NetGalley and the author Ainsley Booth for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.</span></span></span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-1188155842914834552015-04-28T22:25:00.000-07:002015-05-11T01:12:57.717-07:00Black Iris by Leah Raeder<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "Mind = Blown" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">It only took one moment of weakness for Laney Keating’s world to fall apart. One stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors began. Slut, they called her. Queer. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mother decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.<br /><br /> If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.<br /><br /> She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses—and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who has thorns of her own.<br /><br /> But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces—the bully who broke her down completely—she decides it's time to live up to her own legend. And Armin and Blythe are going to help.<br /><br /> Which was the plan all along.<br /><br /> Because the rumors are true. Every single one. And Laney is going to show them just how true.<br /><br /> She's going to show them all.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia;"></span><o:p></o:p> ....................</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">This about sums up my reactions after finishing this book</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: black;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: black;">“I don’t know if I was trying to numb myself or to feel something
through the numbness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe both.”</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black Iris </i>is the second book that I have read by author Leah
Raeder, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unteachable </i>(a book I really
enjoyed) being the first and after finishing this one, I have found that there
is a certain style in which Ms. Raeder likes to write and that coupled with her
often dark and gritty subject matter, Ms. Raeder’s books are not going to be
for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be completely honest, I’m
not too sure that her books are even really for me, but one things is for sure
and that is that Ms. Raeder has a profound talent for writing and whether you
find yourself loving or burning her books, her talent cannot be denied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have found through the years that I am not one that cares
much for author’s that like to use a bunch of flowery words or those that like
to be overly dramatic in their descriptions or characterizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently read a very highly-rated book, by
a celebrated author and though the storyline was great and very interesting, I found
that I could NOT stomach the dramatic descriptions littered throughout the pages
and what could have potentially been a really good read, ended up being a disastrous,
head-ache inducing experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tell
you all of this, because Ms. Raeder is absolutely overly dramatic in her
descriptions and those descriptions are carefully wound into almost every
paragraph of this book, but instead of turning me off or causing me fits of
frustrated sighing and eye-rolling, I instead found that I was hanging on every
word and devouring those grandiose details as fast as my little mind could comprehend
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of it all reading as if a
thesaurus threw up all over the pages, everything felt more poetic in nature
and it was all almost very Plath-esque in its delivery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, Ms. Raeder has an extremely profound
talent for writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<em>“That summer, we were gods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Blythe showed me how to control men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No more Ugly Friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were sky
high and ice cold, pure untouchable sex in fuck-you heels and scarlet lips, our
hands all over each other, driving boys crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Driving ourselves crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d
never be beautiful like her, but the glamour of her aura transformed me from
Wednesday to Morticia and somehow I became darkly alluring, enigmatic.”</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our heroine in this story, or anti-hero would be more
precise, is a very unlikeable and troubled young woman, yet despite all of
that, I could not help but feel sorry for her and want to continue reading
about her utterly messed up life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
also given sub-characters in this story that are just as messed up as our
anti-hero and I found myself just as inexplicably drawn to them as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black Iris</i>
takes us deep into a world of drugs, mental-illness, lies and sexual
exploration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are thrust into the mind
of a drug-addicted, mentally unstable, society standard deviant and the
resulting ride is nothing short of exhilarating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was an anxious mess while reading this book
and I’m pretty sure I hated it as much as I loved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was one of those reads that managed to
pull real emotion from me, the way only a really well written book can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black
Iris - </i>An ugly, macabre story laced with poetic euphuisms that sinks its
clawed fingers and saliva drenched teeth into your very soul and doesn’t let
go, not even after you have closed the book to this story and lay your head
down to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It stays with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Raeder, the great puppet master and all
of us, the dancing marionettes dangling from her strings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>“That’s the thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we’re
not really afraid of pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we’re
afraid of how much we might like it.”<o:p></o:p></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, YES…I absolutely recommend this book, but I also
want to give future readers a fair warning before picking this up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book contains drug use, M/F M/F/F and
F/F sexual encounters, language and a lot of dark subject matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If any of those items are book no-no’s for
you, then I suggest you stay away from this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you enjoy darker reads that touch on the most
basic forms of human depravity – sex, drugs and love, then this little gem is
for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy reading, until next time…</span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-2327614246556309832015-04-27T06:49:00.000-07:002015-05-10T06:13:59.562-07:00Black Rainbow by J.J. McAvoy<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Did Not Finish</span> </h2>
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<u>Back Cover Blurb</u> -<br />
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After an erotic one-week fling with a musician she meets in a bar, <strong>Thea Cunning</strong> never expects to see <strong>Levi Black</strong> again. Then Monday morning comes around, and she discovers that her former lover is not only her professor, but he’s also one of the top criminal lawyers in the state of Massachusetts. <br />
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With everyone in class vying to be one of the twelve disciples—a group of twelve students that Professor Black takes under his wing—tensions run high. Thea considers dropping his class, given their passionate week together and their undeniable chemistry. After all, there are other (less infuriatingly sexy) law professors on campus. <br />
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But to accomplish her goal and get her father out of prison, Thea knows she needs to learn under the best of the best—and that’s Levi Black. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m going to start off on a tangent with this one, just bear
with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I often times clump Doctors and
Lawyers in the same category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously
the job titles and descriptions are different, but the schooling and notoriety
within each group seems to be the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both have a grueling amount of schooling that has to be achieved in order
to become one and both sides need to have a certain amount of passion to achieve
those goals and both are small knit communities, meaning – if you are a
superstar doctor or lawyer, then the chances are pretty high that other doctors
or lawyers know you or know of you and your family, either from case studies or
research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therein lies one of my major
problems with this story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Based off the blurb from the back of this book, we know that
the story is roughly going to be about girl meets boy, girl and boy spend a
full week together hooking up and then we find out that boy is girls college professor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, there are more details, but let me
explain to you why this is something I can’t get past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are introduced to our male MC, Levi Black, who we are
told is a tough as nails law professor, he is known as “El Diablo” to his law
students and “The Cleaner” to the rest of the law community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hasn’t lost a case in over 6 years and
being chosen as one of his “twelve disciples” is something that all law
students compete at a chance of becoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a coveted spot within his own law firm, one of the best in the
country and only the best of the best are chosen to be a part of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds pretty rigorous right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seems to me any law student that is about to
take his class would have studied up on this and know what they are about to
get themselves into or who at least is teaching the class, you would think
anyways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now enter our female MC, Thea Cunning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thea is a law student, whose own mother is a
legendary lawyer, known all throughout the criminal law community as the “The
Shark”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having lost only 3 cases in her
25 year career, her cases are studied and discussed in law classes all over the
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>–Okay, I’m going to go ahead
and stop right here and point out my main problem with all of this, if you
haven’t figured it out already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, you
are trying to tell me that Thea and Levi have spent a WHOLE week together
having passionate, mad monkey-sex all over the place, both of them knowing each
other’s name and they had NOT A CLUE who each other was??? Really???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Thea never once looked to see who her law
professor was going to be? She just happened to enroll in one of the most
intense law classes available, with one of the most famous lawyers country wide
and she never once thought to look up the details on who would be teaching that
class?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a student of law, she has
never once heard the name or studied a case of one of the most supposed famous
lawyers in the country?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, that brings
me to our dear professor, Mr. Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
is going to be the professor of the daughter of one of the most famous lawyers
of her time, whose cases he studies in his class and he isn’t at least given a
heads up by the college? In his studies and research of Margaret “The Shark”
Cunning, the name of her family or daughter specifically never came up?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a top lawyer and Harvard grad and he
doesn’t even look at his class roster once before class starts? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could understand if they gave each other
bogus names or if they just happened to have a fantastic one-night stand, but
to spend a whole freaking week with each other and the topic of profession
NEVER once came up?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I understand that this is fiction and I was even able to
overlook the fact that Mr. Black also moonlights as a part-time rock star *eye
roll*, but COME ON!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much ‘I call
bullshit’ am I expected to swallow before things go from “yeah right” to down
right “ridiculous.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that lawyers
don’t have the best reputations, but one thing I KNOW that they are known for
is their ability to get information and that they are sticklers for details and
I’m supposed to believe that neither one of them was curious enough to ask each
other the most famous get to know you question, “So, what do you do?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nope, not buying it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m supposed to believe that within an hour
of meeting each other at a club, they go to play hide-the-salami with each
other, decide to make it a week long hide-the-salami session and neither one of
them once recognized each other’s name? Nope, nope, nope, sorry, I’m not buying
that either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here it is, that issue coupled with my dislike for the
often times juvenile character dialogue, caused this one to become a DNF for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s possible that some of this is
later sorted out in the book and the book gets better, but within the first 25%
of it, I was already gritting my teeth and eye rolling myself into a headache,
so rather than prolong the torture, I just stopped reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do
see that some people really loved this book though, so this obviously comes
down to personal, pet-peevish tastes and this one hit a nerve with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be fair though, I am not going to rate this one because I
stopped reading so early on in the book, but it’s not one that will make my
recommended list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you decide to read
it, I hope you have a better experience than I did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy reading, until next time…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I would like to thank NetGalley and NYLA for the
ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.</span> </div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-20692016479834189022015-04-25T13:58:00.004-07:002015-05-09T21:49:40.706-07:00Forever the One by Rochelle French<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2.5 "I've Read it Before" Stars</span> </h2>
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<u> Back Cover Blurb</u> - </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Years ago, Sadie Courant had been the frizzy-haired twerp next door. Now she’s drop-dead gorgeous and has, well...uh...breasts. It’s no wonder Broadway director Ethan Sawyer doesn’t recognize his best friend’s little sister when he sees her again.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Sadie has been in love with Ethan since she was in braces. So when he fails to recognize her at the bachelor auction she’s organized, she flips. Sure, she looks a little different now, what with the boobs and a little help from a flat iron, but really?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Deciding she needs to get the man out of her system, Sadie negotiates a way for Ethan to make up for his mistake: a one-night stand. She figures after they do the deed, he’ll head back to New York and she’ll finally be able to let go. But when Ethan has to move back to the small town of Meadowview and work side-by-side with Sadie, she realizes she couldn’t be more wrong about the letting go part of her plan. Because Ethan has and always will be…forever the one.</span></div>
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<br /><br /><em>Forever the One</em> is your typical little cutesy, love story. Girl crushes on guy, guy doesn’t return those feelings. Girl grows up and still crushes on guy, guy doesn’t recognize the girl. Guy finally recognizes girl and gives her one passionate night and girl fights to keep guy. It’s the same story line that we have all heard or read about one time or another with nothing really spectacular to make it stand out.</div>
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<br />With the amount of books that I happily devour daily, it typically takes something really special and often times different to make me sit up and really take notice. I don’t mind reading “tired” or “played out” themes, as long as the author is able to make it their own, write it well and give the book a personality worth getting to know. Unfortunately, this one fell flat on two of the categories. The book is well written, it just didn’t stand out or give me anything I haven’t already heard before.<br /><br /> Now, to be fair, I need to stress my earlier point…I read a lot…like, a lot, a lot. Normally around 2 novels a day. Now, that could be considered light reading to some, but if that is the case, then you definitely know what I am talking about when I say that something has to be really good to stand out in the crowd, because anything less than almost perfection quickly becomes forgettable. So, often times there are books that are pretty good, maybe even really good that I have read, but they will still only get a 2-3 star rating from me, because it’s the great and fantastic books that I read, the ones that really stand out, that I give my 4 and 5 stars to. So, with all that being said, this is a good book…meaning, there wasn’t anything that I hated about it and I did not cause anyone or anything physical damage while reading the book. I’m sure that a majority of you would find it an ok/good book and I was entertained while I was reading it, but when I was done with it, I was on to the next book without a thought or lingering feeling about it, it just didn’t stand out.<br /><br /> Overall, no, this is not a book that I would recommend. Those looking for a quick, cutesy love story will likely enjoy this book, but those looking for something a bit more profound, or those who really like their reads to be more memorable (like I do), this one is not going to be for you. <br /><br /> Happy reading, until next time…<br /><br /> I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloomfield Publishing for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. </div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-15962004171234032222015-04-17T18:11:00.000-07:002015-05-09T21:58:25.604-07:00Shutter by Courtney Alameda<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "Overly Dramatic" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u></u></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span> </div>
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<span id="freeText15425685145565352665"><span style="color: #444444;">Horror has a new name: introducing Courtney Alameda.<br /><br />Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.<br /><br />When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain<em>.</em><em> </em>As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.<br /><br /><em>Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week.</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Just fair warning, this review</span><span style="color: black;"> does not really contain any real
description or an overview of the book itself, I’m mainly going to talk about
why I rated it 2 stars and it has nothing to do with the storyline or premise
of the actual book, because if based solely on that, I would have given it 4
stars, but unfortunately it isn’t and obviously I didn’t.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">I need to start this off by being 100%, completely honest
with you…I am NOT in the majority when it comes to my feelings and review of
this book and usually when that happens, I am so confused as to why, but in
this case I know why and it all boils down to personal taste in writing style
and for me, I just didn’t like the “dramatic flair”, if you will, that Ms.
Alameda uses all throughout <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shutter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">I’m more of a call-it-what-it-is kinda gal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, I enjoy descriptive phrases and edgy
adjectives just like the next person, but I don’t enjoy being beat over the
head constantly with grossly, often times silly, descriptive word use and there
came a point while reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shutter</i> that
I literally screamed out loud, because of my annoyance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm…let me try to better explain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">How I usually like my books to read (this is NOT a scene
that is found in the book, but an example):</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">"I
walked down the dirt road and admired the spring flowers that lined the
pathway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the sun setting in the horizon,
it was a beautiful sight that filled me with a sense of peace."</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Now, this is how that scene would have been described in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shutter</i>:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I
trudged down the soot and dust strewn course while venerating the small growths
that scored the vicinity, the ones that mother spring had birthed into existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was slowly falling into slumber and
the alluring vision it presented shepherded me to tranquil satiety."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Okay, so you get what I’m trying to say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One or two or maybe even three overly
descriptive phrases per chapter I would have been able to overlook, but three
to four a page, sometimes more, was just overkill for me and I found it rather
distracting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t able to get lost
in the storyline, because rather than finding the writing style to be a
beautiful form of dictation, all I could think was that somebody really loved their
thesaurus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kicker to all of this
too, is that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shutter</i> is not some literary
genius novel or even a book that delves into emotions or scenarios that would
typically call for pretty words or flowery, over-the-top descriptions, it’s a
mystery/thriller novel that is filled with ghosts, violence and death!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Here are some real examples extracted from the book (and
these are only a few, you can find many more littered throughout the book):</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"The
lights suffocated, then died and doused us in shadows".</i> (The lights
suffocated? Really?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I
swung off the bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fog hushed the
property."</i> (I never knew fog to hush)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I
sensed more than saw the sun set, felt the drowned slip of the light under the
horizon." </i>(I guess lights can drown too)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"The
door wrenched free with a bark." </i>(Again, really?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I
followed Damian out into an anemic, waning night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spindly trees lined the wide avenue, shedding
the gangrenous leaves of fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world
smelled terminal, waiting for winter and rot." </i>(Wait, are we discussing the
weather or a patient in the infectious disease ward?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gangrenous, terminal and rot?)</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"As
soon as I dropped into my seat, exhaustion bricked in my eyes and filled my
bones with mortar."</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(Seriously though, what kind of 18-year-old girl talks
like that?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">There really are just so many more examples, but I’ll stop
now, because for one, this review is getting way too long and two, it’s just
making me annoyed all over again reading these.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit on the whole issue, but it became such a
focal point for me, that I just couldn’t get past it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just couldn’t and oh, I really didn’t like
our heroine in the story, so that did NOT help at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Overall, no, I personally do not recommend this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actual storyline is good, pretty great in
fact, but I couldn’t enjoy it due to the way it was written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will reiterate my early statement though, I
am in the VAST minority when it comes to my feelings and review of this book,
so regardless of my measly opinion, there is a huge majority that absolutely
love this book and that many people can’t be wrong, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if silly, over-dramatic descriptions do
not really bother you, then you might find that you will actually enjoy this
book, but for me I experienced an unfavorable assessment…in other words, for me
it was a no.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Happy reading, until next time...</span></span></div>
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Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-81743577596016822152015-04-17T04:38:00.000-07:002015-05-09T22:00:47.730-07:00Little Peach by Peggy Kern<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">4 "What a Terrible Book" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<span id="freeText17072954176355842345"><span style="color: #444444;"><em>What do you do if you're in trouble?</em><br /><br />When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. <br /><br />Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. <br /><br />But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. <br /><br />This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reading this book for me was like watching a “based off of
actual events” movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the story
and characters in this book are fiction, the material in the book is sadly based
on a horrific fact that is happening all over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
isn’t some tragic event that happened years or decades ago, this is something
that is happening RIGHT NOW and too many people, myself included, are either
oblivious or just not that concerned by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is appalling, terrifying and horrible what is happening in this world
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little Peach</i> is an uncomfortable
and unapologetic eye opener to the very real problem of run-a-ways, sex trafficking,
drug addiction and hopelessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was really unsure what to expect when I picked this book
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few of my book nerd friends had
read it and though they gave it 5 stars, they actually hated the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t hate it because the author just
sucked or the writing was terrible or because the editor needed to be shot,
they hated it because of the subject matter and they gave it 5 stars because
the author was awesome enough to tackle an on-going issue and turn it into a
readable book that tugs your heart strings, while portraying an all too real
reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They loved it because the
author cared enough about something, that they channeled that outrage and
coupled it with their gift with words to deliver a message in a media form that
reaches hundreds of thousands of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They loved it and they hated it and I was nervous as hell to read it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This story is told to us by our young, 14-year-old MC Michelle,
or Little Peach as you will come to know her and it explores the circumstances
in her life that have led her to where she is now and the things that she has
endured in the name of family and security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It explores the frailty of an impressionable mind and the lengths people
will go in order to feel loved and the things they will do for a sense of
belonging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get a glimpse into a
depraved world that feeds the hunger of the dark-side of humanity and allows
the very real and very scary monsters of society a playground to hunt with
little to no consequences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My overall feelings after reading this book were sadness,
anger and helplessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sad for the
victims of this reality, angry at the world for letting this happen and I felt
an overwhelming sense of helplessness for my part in it all….the part of doing
nothing at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though this book is well
written and contains some very dark subject matter, I still couldn’t help but
to think that Ms. Kern still tread a bit lightly, erring on the side of caution
and gave us just the tip of the iceberg as far as the subject matter goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t pretend to know what really goes on
and how the actual workings of prostitution or sex trafficking goes, but I’m
aware enough to understand that it’s an ugly, horrible business and though our
MC Michelle, faces things that no person should ever have to endure, I can’t
help but think that she got off lightly compared to the reality of some and
that is devastating to think about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to read. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not a very long book, but the story is
one that will stick with you forever. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
book does contain very sensitive subject matter, so please use caution before
reading this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It contains underage
girls, non-consensual sex, drugs and physical abuse, so if any of those are
triggers for you, please be warned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
not sure if I would have liked this book at all if it were just another fiction
book out there, but the reality that it brings with it, is just too hard for me
to ignore and I appreciate what Ms. Kerns did by writing it and I think anyone
else that reads it will feel the same.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy reading, until next time…</span> </div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-41543485142938696942015-04-16T23:19:00.001-07:002015-05-09T22:08:35.085-07:00The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "Don't Expect Me to be Sane" Stars</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7WUt0l7onorkoa5HbIbxDbAc-EEIo_7N1rH9jSjH5wX2a1QwU55onfNFBq_FHAvfF7yxXoDhAurHUU-n-Fe1c6Y-cpY8hC3SEtZrgoEgKxPUAd4B6bDZ-rrKYBArZk_1bGSWlBga2lVD/s1600/the+girl+on+the+train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7WUt0l7onorkoa5HbIbxDbAc-EEIo_7N1rH9jSjH5wX2a1QwU55onfNFBq_FHAvfF7yxXoDhAurHUU-n-Fe1c6Y-cpY8hC3SEtZrgoEgKxPUAd4B6bDZ-rrKYBArZk_1bGSWlBga2lVD/s1600/the+girl+on+the+train.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </div>
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<span id="freeText13132361204740265435"><strong>A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.</strong><br /><br />Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.<br /><br />And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?<br /><br />A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to<em> Gone Girl</em>, <em>The Silent Wife</em>, or <em>Before I Go to Sleep</em>, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay, so this book sat in my queue of “to be read” books for
a little while, but because of the often glowing and raving reviews that I KEPT
seeing over and over again, I found that I wanted to be part of that “cool kid”
club, the one where everyone had read the book and couldn’t stop gushing about
it, so I stopped reading everything else and started in on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should have known better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, this fell victim to a little genre that I like to
call “you have gotten so much hype, I really hope that you are about to blow my
freaking mind” and of ALL the books and movies that have suckered me in under
that category, only a few have ever really done it for me and this wasn’t one
of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get me wrong, this IS a
good book and I do recommend that people read it, but the less expectations you
have for it, the more I think you will enjoy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike a lot of books that I read, this one
actually took me a few days to finish and I think that it was because of the
hype that I had built up in my mind for it, because instead of being completely
enraptured with it, I actually found myself pretty bored during some of it and
I found that in order to keep myself concentrated in reading it, I would have
to put it away and come back to it after a few hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for the storyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is not a character in this book that I liked…not a one!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is something really rare for me too, I
normally have to at least like my main MC before I recommend a book, but out of
the three women who narrate this book, I had nothing but a hate-hate relationship
with all of them, but it somehow really worked for me while reading this and
helped to keep me interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
want to give away too much about this though, because even the slightest
overview can be a spoiler and this is one that you just have to read to really
experience what it is that I’m talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Girl on the Train</i>,
doesn’t offer too much as far as thrills are concerned, but what it lacks in
the “edge of your seat” reading department, it more than makes up for with suspense
and anticipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this tale, no one can
be trusted, nothing is what it seems and every story has three sides:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what she says happened, what they say
happened and what it is that really happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was it Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick or was it Mrs.
Peacock in the kitchen with a lead pipe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My mind was constantly running through scenarios trying to figure out
the “who done its” and the “why done its” and though I finally, FINALLY figured
it out, it wasn’t till about ¾ of the way through that I did and with so many
books nowadays being so easily predicted, that was a really welcome surprise
for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, yes, I do recommend this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that readers who enjoy the
mystery/crime genre will find a nice little mystery in this one and will also
enjoy the writing style of Ms. Hawkins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you are more a romance or thriller enthusiast, I don’t think that this
one will be your cup of tea and you may find it very hard to keep yourself
vested in the story, but if you want to try something a little different, then
I say give it a go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have definitely read
a lot better, but I have also read a lot worse, but like I said, don’t expect
too much and you might find that you actually enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy reading, until next time…</span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-89258423505717059062015-03-31T10:46:00.004-07:002015-05-09T22:20:24.175-07:00Omega (War of the Alphas, #1) by S.M. Reine<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"> 3 "I'm Mad at You" Stars</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu1rnv-RWlP4EE63-oevLyX5jEQlApw_mJpD2tlIMAlY7NaaX8hniwaBfxUchi60emy8PHzp56E76Zcbz9FLzoFDHCD0yJ16Poi2Ykq_S891sMzIfUge9So1DkA3XPT-NFhI6Wz5IH2sz/s1600/Omega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu1rnv-RWlP4EE63-oevLyX5jEQlApw_mJpD2tlIMAlY7NaaX8hniwaBfxUchi60emy8PHzp56E76Zcbz9FLzoFDHCD0yJ16Poi2Ykq_S891sMzIfUge9So1DkA3XPT-NFhI6Wz5IH2sz/s1600/Omega.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </div>
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<span id="freeText10776164702471491937">Ten years ago, Deirdre Tombs died. When she was reborn the next day, Deirdre had become a shapeshifter who can't shift shapes. Nobody knows what animal she's supposed to be. She's definitely not a werewolf. The Alpha, Rylie Gresham, can't force her to transform like other members of her pack.<br /><br />Now Deirdre is considered an omega, the weakest shapeshifter in the pack--a vulnerable position when Everton Stark demands tribute from Rylie. He wants to be the dominant Alpha. The only Alpha. And he plans to make her pack submit whether they want to or not. Stark can make every shapeshifter obey him by force of will alone.<br /><br />Every shapeshifter except Deirdre.<br /><br />The shifter who can't shift is the only hope for Rylie to win the war against Stark. It will take everything Deirdre has to survive undercover in his den. But can an omega's will be stronger than that of a charismatic, deadly Alpha like Everton Stark?</span></div>
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<br />A little ditty to sum up my thoughts of this book…<br /><br />Urban Fantasy is my addiction, it’s my drug of choice,<br /> When I see a new series, I jump around, dance and rejoice.<br /><br />When Omega came across my NetGalley feed,<br /> In an instant I knew, it was one I must read.<br /><br />Words like “shape shifter” and “War” baited the hook,<br /> So I put all my laundry aside and started the book.<br /><br />Deirdre is different, an Omega is what most people see,<br /> Because she has no idea, as to what her shifter side might be.<br /><br />Always alone, with a heart full of resent,<br /> She trudges through life, no real goals or intent.<br /><br />Then comes the day, she meets Everton Stark,<br /> The man who’s bite, is much worse than his bark.<br /><br />He wants to be alpha and can compel with his voice,<br /> Making shifters do things, without given much choice.<br /><br />But Riley Gresham is ruling Alpha and heavily skilled,<br /> It will take more than thought needed, for her to be killed.</div>
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With a side cast of characters like Niamh, Jacek and Gage,</div>
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This is one of those books, that will have you turning the page,<br /><br />This was a solid 4 star read, until I got to the end,</div>
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When that “What the Fuck” moment, decided to happen.<br /><br />Why, oh why, did you have to end it that way?</div>
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I was so distressed, that I took a whole star away.<br /><br />I’ll not giveaway any spoilers or say things I should not,</div>
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But other than the last few pages of the book, I liked it a lot.<br /><br />I’ll be reading part two, because that end left me needing,</div>
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So until next time book lovers, I bid you all Happy Reading.<br /><br />Overall, this wasn’t a bad start to a new series. It kept me entertained and I was actually curious as to how the story would play out. I never really knew what the author had planned at any given moment and I enjoyed that. Readers of the Urban Fantasy genre will want to read this one and even though it doesn’t have a lot of romance, there is a little of it throughout that should keep the romance readers happy.<br /><br />I would like to thank NetGalley and Red Iris Books for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. </div>
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Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-30027096474651098642015-03-28T00:01:00.001-07:002015-05-09T22:31:17.270-07:00Asylum by Jeannette de Beauvoir<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "Better Brush Up on Your French" Stars</span></o:p></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuu0PEIt22YrXcS5wAkTVemTJ7OEBUzoIxBqE5s_5UgoxSwFMQcLJ7fsVxzzNqlYaL3-d9YLSF7YU_ncoyATZtiJxli42jwjQhPlO7e25JUaYDlz91tYN7nRAZ3MaCOcNrzBryERWCECp/s1600/Asylum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuu0PEIt22YrXcS5wAkTVemTJ7OEBUzoIxBqE5s_5UgoxSwFMQcLJ7fsVxzzNqlYaL3-d9YLSF7YU_ncoyATZtiJxli42jwjQhPlO7e25JUaYDlz91tYN7nRAZ3MaCOcNrzBryERWCECp/s1600/Asylum.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </div>
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<span id="freeText1818136630924374509">Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor's office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine's boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and bodytypes and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city's and the country's past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?<br /><br />Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her...in Jeannette de Beauvoir's <em>Asylum</em>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></span> </div>
Parlez-vous Français? Non? On apprend mieux!<br /><br /> Yeah, me either and I found that the two years that I spent in French class in high school didn’t do much to help me either. This is a first time read for me by the author Jeannette de Beauvoir and I’m not sure if this is something signature for her or if it was just in this novel, but I found the constant French dialogue throughout the book to be distracting and almost bordered annoying. I can understand the occasional phrase, word or sentence, I think that it actually helps to build a little character, but every other paragraph or page is just a bit much.<br /><br />The interesting thing about this story is that I wasn’t one hundred percent sure if I liked it or not, but then when I got to the end of the book and realized that a majority of the story was based in fact on true events, I found myself a little more intrigued and I was able to further appreciate what it was that I had just read. <br />
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<em>Asylum</em> is a story that has a lot of history sprinkled with a healthy dose of fiction that come together for a pretty compelling read. The amount of horror/thriller books that I have read could probably feel a small library, so it’s no small thing when I say that out of ALL of those books, the ones that I find the scariest and the ones that keep me up at night are not the ones with ghosts, ghouls or other creepy crawlies, but the ones that examine and expose the ugliest monster of them all and that is the dark side of humanity. Asylum is no exception to that and though it wasn’t scary per se it still opens your eyes to an ugly truth, only to be further realized when you reach the end. <br />
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Overall, I recommend this book to those readers that like the mystery/crime genre. It’s not super suspenseful and can get a little long winded at times, but there is definitely a story in there that is worth telling and sharing and I’m pretty happy that I read the book. <br />
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Happy reading, until next time…<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this
title in exchange for an honest review.<o:p></o:p><br />
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-46461121016841295812015-03-26T23:39:00.001-07:002015-05-09T21:37:52.143-07:00The Danger of Destiny (Mystwalker #4) by Leigh Evans<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "I'm Going to Miss You" Stars</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFffF8chbNysQS7vl8_cPoZOfPNlngJrmRzgt16JXTd5gavle2S6n4T10X4PvCIgh0lV2ItExqWcgLeWeoden0D1Y2ql84XKVWIW1XBeM9tBB_Xz8fVENSeV0TXAXUx06LmgLwge4Lqse/s1600/the+danger+of+destiny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFffF8chbNysQS7vl8_cPoZOfPNlngJrmRzgt16JXTd5gavle2S6n4T10X4PvCIgh0lV2ItExqWcgLeWeoden0D1Y2ql84XKVWIW1XBeM9tBB_Xz8fVENSeV0TXAXUx06LmgLwge4Lqse/s1600/the+danger+of+destiny.jpg" width="195" /></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><u>Book Blurb</u> - </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">There are very few days off when you’re on an epic quest. Believe me, I know. I’m Hedi Peacock—one half Fae, the other Were—and if being a half-breed with one foot in each world isn’t tough enough to manage, there are the four chambers of my heart to consider. The one who holds the strings? Robson Trowbridge, the Alpha of Creemore. If I had my way, he and I would be locked in a bedroom, for <em>eternity</em>, but a pressing family matter needs my attention. It’s true what they say: A woman’s work is never done.<br /><br /><strong>WHEN YOU CAN HOWL AT THE MOON?</strong><br /><br />My twin brother is being held captive by the Old Mage in another realm. Lo and behold, as soon as Trowbridge and I arrive in Merenwyn, we’re separated in spectacular, dramatic fashion—and I’m left to figure out how to maintain the fragile balance between my Fae magic and my wolf’s blood in a realm that cries to both. Not easy, particularly when I'm keeping an iron-grip on my temper so as not to dispatch with extreme prejudice the odd wizard or smart-mouthed mutt servant who crosses my path. My mama never told me there’d be days like these, but I’m not going down without a fight…or my mate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">This is the fourth and final installment of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mystwalker</i> Series by Leigh Evans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are a fan of this series, you will not
find yourself disappointed, if you have never heard of this series, then you
need to stop right here and go find book one and start there, because nothing
in this book or review will make much sense to you if you don’t.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Being four books in, I think that it’s pretty obvious that I’m
invested in this series and have created an emotional bond with the main characters
of this book, so I tend to overlook a few nit-picky things and I’m overall less
critical when it comes to reviewing the book, but there was just no way of
overlooking the frequent bouts of boredom that I experienced while reading
this!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was still a good book, but with
all the action and goings-on that I experienced with the first three books, I
expected some of that explosive energy at the beginning and it just wasn’t
there and it was a shock to my system when I started reading and found myself
yawning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story line does tend to
pick up speed after a while and we are of course still treated to the same great
and artistic imaginings of Ms. Evans that we experienced in the first three
books, but it all just comes at a little slower pace this time around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Putting the dragging bits aside, I still think that all the Hedi
and Trowbridge fans will be happy with this one and satisfied once the book is
finished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s always bitter sweet for
me when a series that I read comes to an end, because on one hand, I feel like
I want to read about my favorite characters FOREVER, but I have yet to come
across a series that has managed to pull off more than 5-6 books in where I didn’t
start to hate the books and just wish that the author had ended the series when
it was still good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall though, I’m
happy with what Ms. Evans did and I’m glad that I read this series.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">So, overall, yes…if you have already started this series,
then yes, you need to read this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you haven’t yet started this series, then I would suggest that you go ahead and
put it on your to-read list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes a
little bit of adjusting when you first start the series, but once you start,
you’re hooked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Happy reading, until next time…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for
the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-592821951437986832015-03-26T08:36:00.002-07:002015-05-09T22:33:55.991-07:00Hate F*@k: Part Two by Ainsley Booth<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "Cole 'No Comment Motherfucker' Parker" Stars</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;"><u>Back Cover Blurb</u> - </span></span></div>
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<span id="freeText12003471334664812583"><span style="color: #444444;"><strong>Hailey:</strong><br />In the blink of an eye, everything changed, and I can’t pretend I don’t need Cole anymore.<br />He’s my heart and soul, but he’s shut me out, and I’m scared.<br /><br /><strong>Cole:</strong><br />Keeping Hailey at arms’ length used to be an annoying challenge. Now it’s a matter of life and death.<br />I want vengeance. And then I want Hailey to be mine, forever.<br /><br />Final part of the three book Hate F*@k serial. NOT A STANDALONE STORY.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Where do I start?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think I’m a little at a loss for words right now! That has got to be some kind
of first for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">...................<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay, Okay…In this second installment of the three part <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hate F*@k</i> series, the storyline picks up
immediately where part one left off, so you will definitely need to read the
first installment to understand what is going on during this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you haven’t read the first one, I highly
recommend it, it was one of those rare reads that managed to pull a 5/5 star
rating from me and I’m pretty sure that my review of it came across nothing short
of me sounding like a raving, gushy, fan girl, because yeah, I liked it that
much and I was…. so that is why it PAINS me soooo much to have to say that I
wasn’t all that taken with part two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A lot of that might have to do with the anticipation and
build up that I experienced on waiting to get my hands on the second part and
how much I loved the first part, that maybe my expectations were just set too
high…maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to understand, I
was so excited when I finally got my hands on this second part that I actually
squee’d. Like literally, I’m pretty sure the sound that emitted from me, as I
clutched my iPad to my chest while the book downloaded, sounded very much like,
“squeeeeeeeeeeee!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a sound
that I was proud of, but I was pretty damned excited and well, it just couldn’t
be helped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I grabbed my fluffy cat, grabbed
a blanket, curled up on my sofa and jumped right in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that this second part was bad by any
means, but it just seemed a bit lackluster in some areas and redundant in
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the romantic aspect of
the book or should I say erotic aspect, yeah…that was not lacking in the
least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found myself actually fast forwarding
through a lot of the scenes, just because they were so frequent, I was getting
bored with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">got</i> to be another first for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for details, I said it for the first
installment and I will say it again, THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR KIDS OR THOSE THAT
ARE EASILY OFFENDED OR DO NOT LIKE SEXUAL CONTENT, because you are going to get
a butt load (teehee, no pun intended, really) of that in this series, I mean,
look at the title of the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My poor
brain is such gutter trash right now after reading this, that I almost revised
my earlier statement of “I grabbed my fluffy cat” because it just sounded so
loaded with meaning, but then I couldn’t think of a way to say it that didn’t
sound worse…I grabbed my fat kitty?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
grabbed my puffy fur baby?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, I still like the series and I am happily awaiting
part three, but I don’t want to get too excited, because I don’t want to set my
expectations too high again, but this one did end the same way as the first and
that is with a huge cliff hanger, so if you don’t like those, perhaps you
should wait till all three are out and you can read them all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which makes me wonder why this didn’t just
come out as one novel all together anyways?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh well, different discussion for another day, so yes, I recommend it,
but just not with the same ferocity as I did the first part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy reading, until next time…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-29290655017286746422015-03-18T15:43:00.002-07:002015-05-09T22:43:05.080-07:00Righteous by Kim Lehman<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "Let Me Get Off My Soap Box" Stars</span></h2>
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<span id="freeText13494091039519363404"><span style="color: #444444;">A story about a troubled girl and her effed up, going-nowhere life.<br /><br />Quick witted, sharp-tongued Righteous Andrews is troubled by a broken past, fed up with her present circumstances, and resolved to a hopeless future. <br /><br />On the first day of her senior year of high school she gets in trouble, landing in the principal’s office . . . again. There she meets Colt Jackson, the new kid with a troubled past of his own. Despite her attempts to avoid him, Colt seems to show up everywhere she doesn’t want him to be, and soon they strike up an unexpected friendship. Righteous is wary. Friendships aren’t her thing. But something about Colt is different; something about him makes her curious, makes her wonder . . . <br /><br />Is Colt Jackson really different from everyone else? Does happiness and love truly exist? Or will every relationship in her life always end in lies and heartache?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">If my parents named me Righteous, I might be a bit of an asshole too, I’m just saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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So in this story, we meet Righteous, a rebellious young teen with a chip on her shoulder. Life has not been kind to her and so in turn, she is not kind right back. With no expectations or aspirations, she finds herself coasting along in life and doesn’t expect much from herself or those around her. School is mostly a joke and she slowly counts down the days until she graduates and can do her own thing, that is, until Colt arrives in her life. <br /><br />This is your typical tale of teenage angst and first loves, the unfairness of it all and the people that show up in our lives hoping to make a difference. This is a hard book for me to review, because being a teenager myself once, that grew up in less than ideal circumstances and hardship, I find it hard to close off my own opinions and differentiate myself from our heroine. Teenage life is hard, there is no doubt about that, but I find it hard to feel sorry for someone that has the opportunities to make better decisions, but doesn’t and just uses their circumstances as a crutch. I have seen and heard stories of true horrors that teenagers have had to face and in light of that, the things that Righteous goes through almost seems like a cake walk in comparison. Her “poor-me” attitude really grated on my nerves and all I really wanted to do was scoop her up and take her to an orphanage or on a mission trip to a third world country to show her the faces of people that know what true hardship is and who are still able to smile in spite of it all. Something else that I resented while reading this, was the “trailer park trash” stereo type. I have family members that live in trailer parks and their trailers are nicer, more well-kept and the neighbors nicer than some people I know that own homes. Living in a trailer park does not mean that you are poor and trashy! I will stop myself here, before I go off on a tangent, but I really resented the fact that Righteous living in "trailer park" was something to be ashamed of and used as a means to further her “poor me” outlook.<br /><br />Overall, I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t like it. I found that the more I wrote my review, the more resentful I became of the book and my opinion of it lowered accordingly. If you want me to feel sorry for your character (besides her name), then don’t give me the cookie cutter reasons to do it. They are tired and played out and this is not the 80’s. Having absent parents does suck, but it doesn’t make you handicapped. Living in a trailer doesn’t make you trash, it is how you act that does that. And for Christ sake, not having a lot of money does not mean that you are impoverished, be thankful for what you do have – i.e. that trailer that puts a roof over your head and your own bed that you can sleep in at night! So no, I would not recommend this book, because if you yourself have experienced any kind of hardships in your life, you might find yourself resenting it like I did and if you haven’t, then I would hate for you to read this and fall victim to the stereotypes that it portrays.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time…<br /><br />I would like to thank NetGalley and Lucky Stars Publishing for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-43883746110422338252015-03-18T14:10:00.000-07:002015-05-09T22:48:13.441-07:00Bender by M. Stratton<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">3 "Prince Charming is a Bad Boy" Stars</span></o:p></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span id="freeText8115392611420244765"><span style="color: #444444;">Since high school everyone thought Jake Bender would end up behind bars; after all, he comes from a long line of bad boys. He spent years away from the place he called home. When he finally comes back, everyone thinks he's just a punk kid all grown up who’s now running a dive bar called The Night Club. What they don't know is he heads up a special task force, which cleans up neighborhoods and makes them safe again.<br /><br />Stormy Ryan has always felt more comfortable with her books than with people. She loves to spend her days within the pages of her books. When her second-hand bookstore is robbed for the third time in as many months, her employees quit leaving her to run the shop on her own. With the pressure of having to deal with her shop and people, not to mention the declining neighborhood, she is at the end of her rope.<br /><br />When closing up her shop late one night, she is held up and the neighborhood bad boy saves her, putting both of them at the forefront of a psychotic’s obsession.<br />Being bad has never looked so good.</span></span></div>
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<br />Once upon a time, there was a mousy book nerd that took a stand against some very mean and psychotic people and unfortunately, made enemies out of them. Though she had the heart of a lion and the determination of a bear around honey, she was still no physical match against her enemies and soon found herself in a dire situation. Enter our hero. Now, this was no prince charming and though he was here to save the day, instead of galloping up on a white steed, he instead showed up on the back of a bike, covered in leather and exuded danger from every pore. From there, our story follows the unlikely duo as they face off against the sinister men trying to kill them and the mutual attraction that could end up being even more dangerous than the men chasing them.<br /><br />Bender is a story that blends romance, mystery and thrills all together for a pretty great read. The story line is one that is as old as time, a female in peril and a strong man that comes to save her, but what saves this story from being your typical fairy tale romance, is that our hero is not your typical hero and has more bad boy tendencies than good and our protagonists are pretty damn evil and the author does not shy away from letting us know just how evil they are. There are some pretty gruesome scenes in this novel, but nothing that turned my stomach. More squeamish readers beware though, this book does contain death, destruction and some light torture, if such a thing can be “light”, but it only really thickened the plot in my estimation and I enjoyed the thrill of it. <br /><br />Overall, I think that readers that enjoy a little thrill and mystery with their romance will enjoy this one. It’s not the most eloquently written book, but then again, I’m not the most eloquent reviewer, so that didn’t bother me in the least. I find that it’s often important to know what you are about to get yourself into before you open the pages of a book and you need to know if you are about to experience an emotion break down at the hands of those pages, that way you can prepare yourself with either a bottle of wine, a quiet little corner, a box of bon bons or a box of tissues or all of the above. This one is a pretty straightforward read, that doesn’t put its readers through the emotional grinder and it doesn’t make you think too much, so it’s one that is great for the “busy” busy nerds that often find themselves reading at red lights and right before bed. Heed my warning though, if you are the least bit squeamish with blood or violence, you might want to re-think before you decide to pick this one up.<br /><br />Happy reading, until next time…<br /><br />I would like to thank NetGalley and The Hype PR for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review</div>
Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341832778828738264.post-5266922694961562002015-03-17T12:29:00.000-07:002015-05-09T22:56:06.026-07:00The Boy From the Woods by Jen Minkman<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">2 "Ridiculous" Stars</span></h2>
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<span id="freeText1156980586496693420"><span style="color: #444444;">Julia fell down on her knees next to his lifeless body, her heart filling with dread as she noticed the left side of his face was covered in blood. He had fallen off the motorbike, hitting his temple on a sharp-edged rock. His head injury looked really, really bad.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">“Michael?” she whispered softly, putting a trembling hand on his forehead. “Can you hear me?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Julia has been in love with Michael for years. He’s the hottest guy in school, and she can’t believe her luck when they finally hit it off during Senior Prom. Her dream doesn’t last, though: after a few dates, he callously dumps her out of the blue. Summer vacation starts with Julia feeling heart-broken and miserable.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">But then she rescues Michael in the woods when he has a motorcycle accident in a heavy thunderstorm. From that point onward, her life is turned upside down. Michael has changed completely after the blow to the head that nearly killed him... and he wants her back. But why is he so different? And will she be able to trust him this time around?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Can the boy who broke your heart ever win it back again..?</span></div>
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<br />Have you ever met someone for the first time and in the beginning when you are first introduced, you think they are pretty cool and someone you could really like, then they start talking and you find that your nerves become a little irritated, then they have mannerisms that just get under your skin and by the end of the night, you notice every little thing that is wrong with them and the spittle that flies out of their mouth every time they speak is the last straw and if you don’t get out of their company soon, you’re bound to do them bodily harm and probably spend the night in jail? Yeah, that can pretty much sum up my encounter with <em>The Boy From the Woods</em> and it’s painfully obvious, we just weren’t meant to be friends. The blurb sounded so promising and I was looking forward to reading this, but after a few chapters, I wanted to be put out of my misery and by the end, I was mentally unfriending and blocking this book from my friend book list.<br /><br />
I have this memory of when I went to the theater to see the movie, <em>The Village</em> by M. Night Shyamalan and about midway into the movie, I remember leaning over and whispering to my friend, “This movie would be so dumb if it’s all actually taking place in the present time, but for some reason they are living like the Amish in some middle of the woods compound and don’t even know it!” (note: I have nothing against the Amish) So, you can imagine my reaction when the great reveal happened at the end of that movie, I was so astonished at the sheer ridiculousness of it all and the fact that I had been pretty spot on with my earlier prediction, that I was actually offended. Well, something like that kind of happened again while I was reading this. I had a moment where I thought, “I really hope that THIS is not where Ms. Minkman is taking this story!” and I’ll be damned if that isn’t EXACTLY where she went. <br />
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If you decide to read this book, you need to also be aware of a few cultural differences, because one thing I know for sure is that beer and wine were NOT on the menu at my school prom, so it’s pretty obvious that the legal age limit for drinking is a bit younger there than it is here in the states. It’s not a big deal and I wouldn’t have minded having beer and wine at my prom (legally), but just fair warning to some readers who might find stuff like that hard to grasp. <br />
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Overall, this was not a book I enjoyed and I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It was not just one big thing that turned me off of this book, but also several little things that all culminated together to make this a bad experience for me. The concept was there, but everything else failed in my opinion. <br />
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Happy reading, until next time… <br />
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishers for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.Blendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13449402617731273210noreply@blogger.com0