Review: Ruin

Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken

My rating: 3 of 5 stars






Well it's definitely a tear jerker that's for sure. It's not that I didn't like Ruin, it was ok. My problem with this book was all of the inspirational speeches. I mean, a few heartfelt moments is to be expected, especially considering the content, but unless you're dating a therapist, it's completely unrealistic.
Kiersten is the most sheltered college freshman ever. Luckily for her, she has a great roommate Lisa, and Lisa's cousin Gabe. She is determined to step out of her bubble, and live more than she has the past few years.
Wes is minding his business on the first day of school when Kiersten literally runs right into him. His focus needs to be on football, and school but there is something about Kiersten he can't resist. The two of them are both dealing with their own issues, but maybe they can work them out together.



View all my reviews

Review: Maybe Someday

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






Loved, loved, loved.. I literally laughed out loud more times than I can count. When the pivotal point came, (as it does in all good books) my chest was tight with anxiety. The way Hoover is able to convey the emotions of her characters to her readers is astounding.

Sydney is extremely likable, and endearing in the way she handles things that would make the rest of us crumble. Ridge.. oh Ridge. He's just amazing in his devotion to his friends, and family. Not many people could face the challenges he has, and keep a positive outlook. I also wish I had a friend like Warren, although I may want to slap him often, he's freaking hilarious. I really can't say enough good things about this book.



View all my reviews

Review: The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars






Not quite sure how to rate, or review The Goldfinch. It felt like it took years to reach the end, although some parts were so good I couldn't put it down. At times I would read a whole page, and have no idea what it said. The characters Theo, Boris, Pippa, & Hobbie to name a few all provoke a familiarity, and compassion for their well being. Throughout tragic loss, hopelessness, love, and death all things come full circle. What the overall lesson Tartt was trying to teach, I still have no idea. I could have lived without reading this book, and I'm not sure it was worth the days lost to it. Still it wasn't terrible, and I enjoyed parts of it. I think I'm still a little unsure how I feel about it.



View all my reviews

Review: Night Broken

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






I started reading the Mercy Thompson series in 2009, and still to this day it remains one of my favorites.
Poor Mercy just can't catch a break. When she isn't fighting for her life against the fae, vampires, or other things that go bump in the night, she is forced to remain civilized while her mate's ex wife stays in their home. Christy is a bitch, there really is no other word to describe her. She walked out on Adam, and their daughter Jesse, and has been a sorry mother since. When she gains the attention of a stalker, she runs back to Adam and his protection. Adam is too kind to turn her away, and she is so freaking manipulative. She does subtle things, asserting herself in her old home, in a way that if Mercy objects, then she looks like the jealous wife. She does well playing the bigger person, much better than I would have!



***Spoilers***
It turns out that her stalker isn't an ordinary human, but one of the original Gods from Canary Island, by the name of Guayota. It's all really complicated, where he comes from, what he's made of, and how he travels. The short story is that he comes from the volcano on Canary Island. He can burn just about anything, and change into a kind of fiery dog. He is obsessed with Christy because she looks like (or is a reincarnation of) the sun goddess, he once kidnapped and raped (and I guess loved in his own weird way). All of the pack females, other than Honey, fall all over themselves for Christy making it clear who they prefer. In the end, Joel, one of Mercy's friends who raises dogs, and also does part time work for Adam is sucked into their latest drama. As a descendant of Canary Island, he is forced to take the place of one the tibicena that Mercy killed. The tibicena are a dog(ish) thing that ties Guayota to the island allowing him to travel away from the island. I know it's complicated. While trying to retrieve the walking stick back from Coyote, Mercy also meets one of her siblings, Gary Laughingdog. In the final battle Adam, Honey, Gary, Warren, and Sam all go out to attempt to stop Guayota, knowing that the chances of survival are slim. Somehow Guayota ends up back at Honey's house where only Mercy, Darryl, Christy, and Jesse are. Luckily Stephan is able to take them away, and Mercy faces them alone until Darryl is able to shift. She gets her neck broke pretty quickly, and Coyote pulls her into somewhere. He tells her to help Joel, and when she goes back she brings Joel into the pack, effectively cutting off half of Guayote's ties. Joel also defeats the other tibicena, sending Guayote back to the island. Coyote shows up at the hospital, and when he leaves, Mercy's neck isn't broken anymore. Now that Guayote is gone, Christy goes to stay with Aurielle until she can decide what she wants to do. Either way she is now out of Mercy's house.



View all my reviews

Review: Uncaged

Uncaged by Harper Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Not what I was expecting when I started Uncaged. This novella was heartbreaking, and I couldn't decide what Sloan was trying to accomplish when she wrote it. In the end I realized it's her way at giving us a little sneak peak at all that is Cohen. He is freaking adorable, and apparently when he grows up, he'll be another heartbreaker just like his dad, and uncles.



View all my reviews

Review: Beck

Beck by Harper Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Dee is probably my least favorite character, but book #3 shed a little light on her situation. Not only did she grow up with the most emotionally repressed parents ever, but Izzy wasn't the only one her ex husband tormented. Throughout the last two years she has kept her fake smile in place, and the only person who knew what was really happening was Beck. He tried his hardest to be there for her, but she continued to push him away. Although she thought she was successful in pushing him away, he has just been biding his time, while continuing to watch out for her. No one else can figure out why he sticks around, but he knows she is worth it, and is determined to be there at the end. Maddox is probably my favorite of the bad boys at Corps Security, and I hope his story is next.





***Spoilers***
While Brandon (her ex husband) was separating Izzy from her friends, and family he knew that Dee was going to be his biggest problem. He paid her a little visit, and after beating the crap out of her, and raping her, he told her to leave Izzy alone or he would kill her. This effectively puts an end to her snooping, and trying to convince her bff to leave her abusive marriage. When Brandon shows back up at the end of the first book, it triggers all of Dee's problems, and now she must deal with ptsd. None of her friends had any idea she was spiraling so deep into depression she actually tried several times to kill herself. Beck knew, and did everything he could to help her, even when she continued to push him away. When Dee finds out that one of her agents in her out of state insurance office is stealing money, she doesn't realize how bad it is. She shows up at the North Carolina office, only to be attacked by Adam"s (the agent thief)drug dealer. He beats her so severely she doesn't wake up for several days. During that time Beck is with her every day, and even after she is allowed to go home. She finally realizes that he isn't like the other men in her life, and won't up and leave her. It only took her two years to figure that out. Even the best of men wouldn't hang around for two years. Adam owes his drug dealer 200k, and since he's up and disappeared they are looking to Dee to pay his debt. The guys are all looking for Adam, hoping he can clue them in on what the fuck is going on. At the end of the thirty days the dealer gave Dee, Adam shows up at the Corps Security office, clearly off his rocker. He tries to shoot Emmy, but Cooper takes the bullet and doesn't make it! AGHHH it's awful, Coop was awesome, and I really wanted him to have his own happily ever after!! His brother Asher comes back, and joins up with the guys, while planning his revenge on the dealer who caused Coop to lose his life. At the end we learn that Chelsi, Dee's assistant that is now living in Dee's old apartment after she sold the North Carolina branch, is pregnant with Coop's baby. They had a one night, no strings attached, sex-a-thon and she never even had the opportunity to tell him. Emmy up and leaves the office, distraught with the fact that Cooper died while saving her. Maddox takes off to "get his girl." YEAA so glad Maddox finally pulled his head out of his ass. I am hoping Asher and Chelsi will hook up, and have their own book, right after Maddox and Emmy's!



View all my reviews

Review: Cage

Cage by Harper Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






There is a lot more to Greg Cage than just Dee and Izzy's best friend. Since losing his sister ten years ago, he has vowed to protect the other women in his life. He is convinced his sisters abusive husband had something to do with her death, and meeting Izzy fresh out of an abusive relationship, sets the tone of their relationship. Once Izzy and Axel get back together, she doesn't need him to do as much for her as she has in the past. When Greg meets Melissa it's lust at first sight. Once they are officially introduced, he is determined to win her over. Meli is extremely independent, and after losing her own sister has been tasked with taking care of her nephew, and her aging mother. She sees Greg as nothing but heartbreak, and is just as determined to stay away. Greg has an ex-fwb that doesn't understand the 'ex' part. She is delusional, and quite a bit crazy. She is on her own mission to get rid of Meli, and take her place. When all hell breaks loose, Greg calls in a favor from Braxxon Breaker the leader of the Breakneck motorcycle club.



View all my reviews

Review: Axel

Axel by Harper Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Harper Sloan's writing reminds me a lot of Kristen Ashley's. Since Ashley is one of my faves, naturally Corps Security was a hit. If you like macho men that love their girls fiercely, you will enjoy this. I only have two tiny complaints. First, Izzy gets pissed several times because people treat her as if she is fragile. The problem I had was that she IS fragile. Not that she doesn't have every right to be, but you can't breakdown all the time, and then get mad when someone treats you like you're breakable. Second was the way she, and her bff Denise talked to one another, bitch this, and bitch that. I get it, lots of girls talk that way to each other, just wasn't my thing. Neither of those complaints diminish the books awesomeness though, and I would recommend reading.



View all my reviews

Review: Darkness Before Dawn

Darkness Before Dawn by Claire Contreras

My rating: 4 of 5 stars







Although not frequently, sometimes I am very glad that these characters I get attached to aren't real. No one should have to go through the things Blake and Cole have experienced, even if it led them to one another. Then again, the strongest people are often those who have been hurt too many times, but chose to continue anyway.

Blake is kidnapped for the second time in her very short life, and finding out the same people are responsible is devastating. Clearly Cole is going out of his mind wondering where she is, who has her, and how they are treating her. Several key players in their past make an appearance, and they're both forced to acknowledge all that they never knew.



View all my reviews

Review: There is No Light in Darkness

There is No Light in Darkness by Claire Contreras

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







Claire Contreras did an amazing job at really sucking the reader in, and keeping you on the edge of your seat until the end. I was so absorbed in the book, I ended up going to bed way too late!
Blake was kidnapped, and lost both of her parents in a gruesome murder when she was four. Since that time she has had to deal with the nightmares, constant fear, and paranoia. Understandable, right? As she gets older she is given hints as to who she was before, a note here, pictures, a safety deposit box etc. While her past, and the reasoning behind that tragic night become more clear, she learns pretty quickly that with every question answered, two more arise. Her need to know, may put her in more danger if the wrong people find out she is asking questions. Major cliffhanger at the end, Contreras is guaranteeing that you won't want to miss out on book two.



View all my reviews

Review: Murder of Crows

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

My rating: 4 of 5 stars







I hope this is not the last of The Others series. Bishop is an excellent author, with thorough world/character building, and the imagination to create something new. Unlike most of the urban fantasy genre, The Others are not simply regurgitated stories, with a few plot differences, and new character names.

Though most of the terra indigene look at humans (or monkeys) as edible, the Lakeside Courtyard, with the help of Meg are an example of the way they can all work together. With the Humans First & Last movement sweeping the globe, the tensions between the two species is growing. Although the terra indigene only act when provoked, the humans so easily forget how devastating it is when they do finally act. Meg is learning to live outside of the compound where she was only property to the handlers there, and having the security, and safety of living in the Courtyard is making the transition a little easier. She is now free to make the decision of when to cut, and the prophesies she sees are used to help the Others, as well as the humans who aren't involved in attempting to destroy the terra indigene.



***Spoilers***
The HFL (Humans First & Last), and more importantly the Controller (the man who controlled Meg before her escape) are using the blood of the cassandra sangue to make new drugs in their attempt to defeat the Others. The blood collected from the cut when the Cassandra sangue is able to speak her prophesies (which gives the girl a feeling of euphoria) is being used to make the drug feel good, which causes the user to feel so much euphoria, he cares nothing of what goes on around him or what is done to him. The other drug, gone over wolf, is collected when the Cassandra sangue is unable to speak her prophesy, causing her extreme pain, and the user extreme aggression, to the point he will engage in a dangerous way with no thoughts of the repercussions. These drugs are being used to kill the Others, and if you add that with the fact that humans are refusing to sell to the others, even though it was a part of their agreement for the land they live on and a war is about to break out. Simon and the other terra indigene are able to locate the compound with the help of their police friends in Lakeside, and rescue the girls once they destroy the handlers.



View all my reviews