Category Archives: book reviews

by

Book Review: Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles, #4)Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing ending to the Beautiful Creatures series! The writing is almost like worlds apart from where books one and two were. The dialogue flowed better. I didn’t find myself confused throughout passages (although Lena’s poems were sometimes confusing to me). And I honestly don’t remember any repetitive passages anywhere in the book.

I loved Beautiful Redemption so much that I couldn’t put it down until I finished. In fact, I’d almost classify this one as a crack book because I had to keep moving to find out what would happen next. I also found that I’d grown so wonderfully attached to the characters through the last two books that I actually cried during portions of Beautiful Redemption. Amazing ending to a series and am hoping these authors keep writing so I can indulge in more of their works, especially with all of the improvement I’ve seen within this series.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles, # 3)Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful Chaos was notably better than book one and book two, which was a HUGE relief! Though I did notice a couple of repetitive ideas (particularly Link’s mom thinking the end of the world was coming), this book didn’t go over the same ideas from books one and two, and the repetition was much less noticeable. As a result, I ended up enjoying Beautiful Chaos much, much more! In fact, I think I flew through it in just three, four days. So, if you’ve pondered whether or not to go through with the series because of irritation at the technical aspects of books one and two, then I say go for it! I’m glad I did! Just be prepared to purchase Beautiful Redemption immediately after finishing because you won’t be able to NOT read what happens in the next book.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, #2)Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beautiful Darkness picks up where Beautiful Creatures left off. Lena is dealing with the grief of losing her Uncle Macon. Ethan is trying to figure out how to help her process it all, but everything he does seems to push her further away. There’s something strange happening to Lena, and to him. And then he learns just how far she’s gone, just how distant their relationship has become. True to his character, Ethan continues to pursue Lena, even after it seems that all hope is lost. The only question is, will his efforts be a waste or will he find a way to save the Caster girl he loves?

I’ve got to be honest: I found myself just as intrigued by the story and its characters as I had been with book 1. I also found myself just as frustrated with the strange, awkward and confusing thought streams. But Beautiful Darkness came with its own unique set of frustrations, namely the unnecessary repetition. During the first half of the book, the authors repeatedly retold things we’d learned from book 1. For some of the minor things, like who Lucille Ball is, I can see reminding readers. But this reminding applied to even core concepts of the book – the difference between Dark and Light Casters, explanation of who main characters were from book 1, etc.

Thankfully, by the time I’d reached the halfway point, all of the repetition had stopped. Or, at the very least, it had decreased enough that I no longer noticed it was happening. And, by that time, the story had picked up and I couldn’t put it down. Like I said, pretty much most of the same – great story, amazing characters, but some mechanics that are downright frustrating. Hoping that book 3 will be better though because, as much as I love the story and the characters, I’m getting a little annoyed with some of the writing and it’s starting to squash my desire to keep going. I’d hate for my annoyance to keep me from finishing the series because I really do care about what happens to the characters in the end.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1)Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I’ve become rather spoiled by the amazing authors I’ve read lately because this wasn’t my typical read and gush review. I actually had to take a few days to think about what I wanted to say and how I honestly felt about this book. In the end, I found myself standing on the line – I liked the story, enjoyed the characters, and definitely found some originality in the pages. But some of the mechanics kind of distracted me, which was frustrating, and ultimately, it affected my review.

The Story:

This is one of those almost insta-love books. It’s not quite that, but the main characters, Ethan and Lena, definitely fall for each other rather quickly. Typical of teenage relationships. But there’s another element that I felt justified the quick transition from strangers to love struck teens: they shared the same dreams before they even met. Like experiencing some kind of supernatural déjà vu, they connect during their very first in-person meeting. But Ethan has no idea what he’s in for when he allows himself to fall for Lena. Certainly, he knows she’s strange, but he has no idea just how different she really is. And there’s more. During his relationship with Lena, Ethan learns that things aren’t quite what they seem in the sleepy town of Gaitlin. He also discovers the truth about Lena’s family and her impending birthday. They abandon the warning of their families, and for once, it’s the guy chasing the girl and helping her hold on to something worth fighting for.

The Characters:

Ethan is the main character of this story. I found it refreshing to read a romance book from a guy’s perspective. There aren’t a lot of those out there, and it’s really interesting to see the insight an author is able to give her male protagonist. Lena is your not-so-typical outcast who, despite the fact that things may soon change for her forever, loves Ethan, a boy she shouldn’t love. Other interesting characters worth mentioning include Link, the comedy relief and best friend; Amma, the superstitious hoo-doo-ish caretaker of Ethan; Macon, Lena’s uncle that is hiding more than you realize at first; and Ridley, the seductive dark cousin of Lena. These were the characters that stood out for me the most, and they were characters that I honestly connected with. There were others that played more minor parts, all of which were well put together (with the slight exception of Marian, the town librarian…she kind of talks in quotes and riddles a bit too much for my taste). Overall, believable, interesting characters that I enjoyed.

Book Distractions:

Unfortunately, there were some things I found very frustrating and distracting about this book. The first being the somewhat disjointed thought patterns throughout the book. I found myself confused sometimes, or bored because of redundancy. It felt like the thought-flow was just a bit mixed up at times.

The second issue I ran into had to do with the history. While I definitely felt like the history of Gaitlin and its characters needed to be shared, I also felt like there were some areas where the history overshadowed the story. There’d be whole sections of history that I’d end up skimming over because I felt like it’d just went on entirely too long.

Lastly, I felt like it took me forever to get into the book. It’s a slow read at first, and I had to fight to keep reading. I’d put it down several times, not really sure I even wanted to continue. Thankfully, the book did pick up pace nearly halfway through and I ended up being very glad that I’d continued. By the time I’d reached the last quarter of the book, I had a hard time putting it down.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, and I would recommend it. I’ve started the second book already, and though it’s a slow start just like the first one, I’m going to keep fighting for that page-turning section that I managed to find within book 1. Had there been fewer distractions, I definitely would have given Beautiful Creatures a higher rating because the story, and its characters, were that good.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review: Reservation by Rachael Wade (Preservation, Book 2)

Reservation (Preservation, #2)Reservation by Rachael Wade

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“If there’s anyone in the world who deserves a happy ending, it’s two broken people who taught each other to love.”

I’m going to be straightforward about this one…If someone had told me I’d be giving this book five stars, I don’t know that I would have believed them. Although I’m well acquainted with (and a huge fan of) Rachael Wade’s work, I wasn’t really sure I even wanted to read Ryan’s book. I’d fallen in love with Ryan at the beginning of Preservation but by the time I’d reached the end, he’d left me annoyed. I’d felt like he didn’t deserve Kate. But when Reservation came out, I felt like I needed to read it – maybe for some kind of closure, or maybe to try and better understand Ryan Campbell and his motives. I’m so glad I decided to read this book!

Not only did I fall in love with Ryan all over again, I felt like I found some resolution in the way things had ended in book 1. That’s not to say that I didn’t want to wring his neck or clock him over the head with a frying pan; I just better understood the motive behind his actions. I gained that insight I’d been looking for – the why behind his stupid, seemingly selfish decision. I guess, in other words, I’d gained a sense of compassion for him while reading Reservation. That compassion continued to grow as I went through the book, and by the time I’d reached the last half of the book, I couldn’t bring myself to put it down.

There had been one small detail that I would have liked to have seen more “resolved,” so to speak. But other than that, I absolutely loved Ryan’s story. I’d also appreciated the fact that Ryan’s story hadn’t simply his side of the Preservation book – it was a completely original novel with a completely different story line, and I loved that! Now I’m just waiting for Carter’s story, book 3 of the Preservation series…rather impatiently, I might add, since he just so happens to be my favorite character from the series!
View all my reviews

by

Book Review: The Edge of Never

The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, #1)The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh. my. WORD! Where to start? I could word vomit about this book for hours, but I’m going to try really, really hard to keep this a somewhat focused review. =)

First off, the story itself…How can you not fall in love with a story like this? I think most of us have had those times in our life where we look around and wonder, “How did I get here?” Camryn experiences this exact moment and then does what I so often wish I could do – she headed out on a road to nowhere. It’s on the road that she meets the amazingly sexy, free-spirited Andrew. But what I love most about this story is that they don’t fall in love instantly. Sure, there’s an attraction there, but the two of them are actually fighting any feelings of attraction they have. It takes until almost the end of the book for them to become an official couple, and I LOVED that. In my opinion, too many books nowadays have that insta-love kind of storyline. And then there’s the whole WAY they fall in love. *SWOON!*

As for the characters…who couldn’t fall in love with Camryn and Andrew? They are beautifully flawed and so wonderfully real. And there’s just something about the two of them, separately and while they are together, that made me fall in love with them. And even though the author took on writing two different characters, they each had their own voice, their own personality and their own hang-ups.

And then the end of the story – how it all comes together – oh. my! I won’t say much more because it would totally ruin the story for anyone reading it, but let me just say that I could NOT put this book down. I tried, desperately, to spread this book out because I knew, from page 5, that I was going to LOVE it. I wanted to indulge as long as possible, but by the time I hit halfway through the book, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else, and just kept picking it up to read “just a few more pages.” It’s been two days and I STILL have a book hangover…sigh.

I have no idea what book 2 is supposed to be about, but honestly, I cannot WAIT to read it. If I could actually survive without a book long until book 2 came out, I wouldn’t read anything else until then. Yeah. It was THAT good!

View all my reviews

by

Fifty Shades of Grey Review

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It’s not often that a book leaves me sitting the fence; I usually either love it or hate it. Fifty Shades was one of those few reads for me. I have so much to say about it, so please forgive me in advance if my review sounds more like word vomit than coherent thoughts.

The BDSM factor, i.e. the sex scenes: All in all, I found the sex scenes to be Fifty Shade’s strength. I’m all for self-expression in the bedroom, whichever side of the spectrum that expression may be. I’m not a big BDSM fanatic, but I’m not opposed to it either. I figure, whatever floats your boat, so to speak. So the sexual nature of the book didn’t deter me in the slightest, but I definitely wouldn’t say it changed my life. I just found that these sections were the best written.

Characters: This is where it’s going to get lengthy, so don’t touch that back button. ;-)
Let’s start with Anastasia. When the book first started out, I found her annoying and unbelievable. I had a really hard time relating to her because I have such a hard time believing that a young woman in her twenties has never, not once, ever had any kind of sexual thoughts, like ever. Sorry, but it just killed her character for me. Well, that and the fact that she had a hard time even talking about her sexual parts AND she had a serious self-image issue….But, after a while, more specifically, as she blossomed from a never-thought-about-sex virgin to an insatiable kitten, she started to seem a little less annoying and a little more real.

Christian, on the other hand, was a totally relatable character for me. As “fifty shades of fucked up” as he was, he just seemed more like a real person to me. He had a past, a history, a story. There were a lot of things I didn’t like about him as a person, but isn’t that what we look for in a character – a personality that is real enough that you have things you love about them and things you hate about them? Christian gave me that. One minute, I hated him – like wanting to scream at or throw my Kindle hate him. The next minute, I was able to sympathize with him. There was one thing that totally drove me nuts about Christian, though…something that kept throwing me off out of the story. One minute, he’s all, “Anastasia, you may fall and hurt yourself. Which will put you in direct contravention of rule number seven, now six,” and the next minute he’s all “Laters, baby.” It’s like he’s got a split personality and while Ana does make several mentions to his “mercurial” personality shifts, this is like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde different. Thankfully, these personality shifts are only occasional so they’re not overly disturbing or distracting; it was just enough that I felt it was worth mentioning.

Consent, Abuse and other things worth mentioning: I know there’s been quite a few discussions about the underlying control theme in Fifty Shades. Christian is extremely controlling and some have made claims that this kind of behavior in a character could be seen as a “bad example” for women in controlling/borderline abusive relationships. Here’s where I stand on this one: Christian’s behavior is very controlling, but given his past, it’s not surprising. And one thing that makes his type of controlling behavior different is the fact that he doesn’t try to isolate her (other than the NDA regarding their sex life), he doesn’t attempt to psychologically damage her, and he actually controls aspects of her life that would KEEP her from getting hurt, which is kind of the opposite of most abusuers. Does that mean that it’s okay for women to try and “rescue” a man like Christian? Nope. Does it mean that I condone or agree with his behavior or controlling personality? Absolutely not. That is exactly the kind of thinking that lands women in abusive relationships. But is Christian “abusive” per say? Not necessarily. Now, before anyone attacks, let me explain. What would be seen as abusive would be in the context of the consensual BDSM relationship between Ana and Christian. Punishment and physical pain are not unheard of in BDSM relationships, and the fact that they are consenting adults negates the “abusive” aspect of it.

Food for Thought: I have to wonder, what is it about Fifty Shades that has made it so controversial? Is it the fact that Ana is so innocent? Is it her lack of self-esteem? Is it Christian’s controlling personality? I have a feeling that it’s a little bit of all three. When mixing these three components together, it’s quite easy to see a potentially abusive situation, and it is true that many abusive relationships are founded on these principles. But it’s important to remember that, as popular as this book may be, it is simply a book – a book that tells of one woman’s fantasy to have a man who knows how to control her body and the bedroom. Nothing more, nothing less. A good friend said it best – what others do with their interpretation of the book is not the responsibility of the collective. Those that interpret a book like Fifty Shades as a reason to stay in an abusive/dysfunctional relationship would have stayed in that relationship, regardless. Those that interpret a book like this as one that tells them it’s okay to continue pursuing guys that hurt them would continue to do so anyway. And just in case you’re wondering, I’m not pulling these thoughts out of nowhere…I spent many, many years trying to “change” or “save” men from their tragic histories; I am a survivor of domestic violence.

All that said, would I read Fifty Shades of Grey again? No. Do I plan on reading book 2? Yes, when I get around to it. I’m not in a crazy hurry or anything. Like I said at the beginning of my very long review, I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. I’m on the fence, but obviously, reading it elicited some sort of response out of me, otherwise, I wouldn’t have written such a long review.

View all my reviews

by

Love and Relativity by Rachael Wade

Love and RelativityLove and Relativity by Rachael Wade

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Today is my birthday and I get to share something totally amazing with you: my favorite read this year, Love and Relativity by Rachael Wade! (Yes, I’m strange…I like sharing on my birthday ;-) )

I laughed. I cried. I read until I needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open! In short, Love and Relativity made my very short “epic love story” list. But in more depth:

“My problem is, I can’t do this shit anymore, Emma. The girl I fucking love is sitting across from me, and I can’t have her. I can never have her because all I seem to do is hurt her, and it’s killing me, alright? Seeing you like that last week…it tore me open and ripped out my insides. It feels worse than the three years I couldn’t touch you combined. There’s nothing left of me, because you have it all. You were right. I am no good for you—not now, and not in the future. I’m done with this back and forth bullshit, so please, just say what you came to say and be done with it, because I can’t fucking take it anymore.”

That. Right there. And so much more is why Love and Relativity is currently my favorite Rachael Wade novel, and probably one of my favorite reads this year.

Jackson is totally bad-boy-with-a-good-heart yummy. He tries his damndest to stay away from Emma, to do what’s right by her. He wants more for her than him, but their love is fueled by sheer magnetism and Jackson isn’t the bad boy he thinks he is. He’s caged himself in, simply put up walls because of the things he’s been through, which really just makes him all the more desirable in the end.

Emma is struggling with her own issues: a jerk of an ex-boyfriend, her own walls and inhibitions, the grief and loss of her sister and the secret that binds her and Jackson together – the one thing that tells her that there’s more to Jackson than meets the eye. But figuring it all out is easier said than done.

Be prepared for some serious swooning and steamy scenes. And don’t be surprised if you spend half the book wanting to ring either Jackson’s or Emma’s necks because we, the readers, can see they are perfect for each other but one or the other seems to think that they’re better off sabotaging the entire thing.

My favorite character from Preservation also plays a pretty big role in Love and Relativity. I got to know him better and I got to see him happy, which I totally loved. He’s the sweet, pure hearted guy who most girls overlook because he lacks that bad boy edge. But to me, he’s beyond yummy and totally the kind of guy I would marry (and yes, I did marry the total sweetheart and I’ve never looked back! =)). So for me, Love and Relativity also righted and the wrongs I’d felt at the end of Preservation, making Love and Relativity all the more enjoyable.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review of The Burning Bush by Kenya Wright

The Burning Bush (Habitat, #2)The Burning Bush by Kenya Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Over the last year, I’ve become a pretty big Kenya Wright fan. The Burning Bush was a prime example of why!
At the end of Fire Baptized, I remember wondering what in the world the author still had to write about: the murderer was behind bars, Lanore had finally decided that she was interested in Zulu…things seemed to be pretty much resolved, at least in my opinion.

Enter The Burning Bush, second book to The Habitat Series. Ms. Wright made it perfectly clear, from the very first page, that I had been wrong in my assumptions about whether or not there should be a second book – boy, had I been wrong!

Zulu, Lanore and MeShack now have a whole new killer to contend with. The only difference is that the killer isn’t after Lanore this time – but someone else is. That someone has found a way to integrate themselves in with the group closest to Lanore and Zulu. Oh, and as always, there’s some hot, steamy, sexy scenes in there. And staying true to her style, Ms. Wright’s characters are amazingly vivid; her description of experiences, locations and details are wonderfully realistic.

I won’t say much more about the book or the story line itself; I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience for anyone else. But I will say this…I cannot WAIT for the next book! The Burning Bush kept me up, wanting to read just a little more. When I got to the end, it was like watching the season finale of your favorite television show – the producers let off at a place that will guarantee you’ll come back for more. That’s exactly what Ms. Wright accomplished with The Burning Bush. In fact, when I reached the end of the book, I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss her or scream at her.

Yes, it was just that good!

I received a free copy of the Burning Bush in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and I have received no other compensation for my review.

View all my reviews

by

Book Review: Zeke by Wodke Hawkinson

ZekeZeke by Wodke Hawkinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ever wondered how women end up in abusive relationships? Why it is they don’t just leave or how, exactly, they fall in love with an abusive person in the first place? Read Zeke by Wodke Hawkinson. I didn’t just read a story that had me on the edge of my seat; I read a story that so accurately the victim’s mental rewiring and abuser’s charming mental instability that I had to step back and remind myself that I was reading a fictional story.

It’s not often that I find a book that can evoke a strong emotional response from me; Zeke did. And it wasn’t just the brilliant writing: exceptional character building would be an understatement, engaging story fails to do this book justice, and to say that the story and characters were realistic couldn’t even come close to describing what I experience while reading Zeke. In fact, the story was so realistic that I felt as though I was simply reading another victim’s story.

As you may well know, I am an advocate for domestic violence victims. I am also a survivor of domestic violence, so Zeke really jumped off the page for me. He was a living, breathing, standing in my living room abuser for me. I had to take several breaks throughout the book, just to breathe and remind myself that I was safe. But there are women out there that are NOT safe. They are with real versions of Zeke. While not all of them are likely as mentally unstable as our male protagonist, they are all mentally unstable in one way or another. Anyone that has ever been in an abusive relationship could probably find a resemblance of their abuser in Zeke.

For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone. For those that are still healing from the trauma caused in an abusive relationship, Zeke may not be a suitable read. But I would recommend this book to anyone else that enjoys psychological, nail biting, edge of your seat books. I’d also highly recommend this book to any young woman who is just starting out in the dating world or to any woman that may be on the verge of entering an abusive relationship.

There are Zeke’s on every corner, ladies, and they don’t come with a sign. Instead, they are charming, handsome, sweet, and completely in “love” with you. But what you see on the surface is nothing more than an act; deep down, they only want to control you, and many of them, like Zeke, actually enjoy seeing you in pain.

View all my reviews