Bad-ass Book Reviews GIVEAWAY!

Shout out to Badass Book Reviews! 

I was the winner in their End of Summer Giveaway!

YAY! I am so excited ---

Check them out yo!

Cannot wait to read and review The Dreamblood series by N. K. Jemisin, The Killing Moon (Dreamblood #1) and The Shadowed Sun (Dreamblood #2)

Review --- Easy

Easy

Tammara Webber

4.5 Star

Who knew it could be so easy to LOVE this book?! I know that was slightly cheesy… I aim to please… your welcome.

This novel had SOOO much going on… Deep *sigh*. Deep. Subjects. So many deep subjects that I really wish we were able to dive a little further into some of the craziness.

Okay – So – When reading the summary of this book I was a little confused … 

It leaves much to be discovered and I want to keep it that way.

But I will tell you this…

Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college--- Yes, and the longtime boyfriend is a dick… Period…

She’s dumped, falls into a dark pit of despair and then while leave a party one night she is attacked by one of her exs frat brother (Buck be the name)--- who is completely driven by dominance.

Lucas --- a senior at the university saves the day and kicks the shit out of Buck.

This book deals with physical and emotion scars – new and old --- peer pressure in an attempt to save face --- and people letting down walls to feel a little bit of security and love.  

Jacqueline is amazing – as Lucas puts it at one point --- she is fucking amazing.

I never once wanted to punch her in the face --- another HUGE bonus NO LOVE TRIANGLES !!! Parts were predictable but I didn’t care… I loved this novel --- Like I said it covers huge subjects and I think I needed to a bit more time with the characters… And yes, there are some very sweet and sexy moments…

Review --- The Lost Prince!

4.5 Stars! 

Expected publication: October 23rd 2012 by Harlequin Teen

The Lost Prince

Julie Kagawa 

Julie Kagawa held true to the fey and once again creative an epic adventure with a splash of romance and humor! I am a HUGE fan of the iron fey series --- and so I was super excited to read The Lost Prince.

The Lost Prince is written from Ethan’s POV and honestly in order to understand what is going on in this book and the secret moments created for the reader you must have read the iron fey series.

I didn’t expect to meet a callused and jaded young man but I suppose Ethan’s life has always been a little screwy. He is constantly being attacked and messed with by the fey in the mortal world and been blamed for their crimes. He’s lost people he has cared about and therefore has built up a huge source of angry and resentment that throughout the novel he constantly trying to keep under wraps. Ethan finds himself thrown into the one place he swore he would never return to and discovers that he has to fight a battle to save the ones he cares about.  

We meet a couple new lovey characters and one of two that I am not sure how I feel about just yet. Ash *swoons* and Puck *giggles* only made small appearances --- and I think I was a little disappointed because of that. I really love those characters and the humor factor was dropped down a couple notches due to their absence.

Ethan begins to care for a girl in this story and his battle to keep her away from him and safe reminds be a lot of Ash in the Iron King and Iron Daughter.

It seemed like I was always one step ahead of where this story was going. I kind of knew from the first few chapters who the bad guys were and their motivation. However, I am sure there will be a huge twist coming soon.

Needless to say, I love the fey and would read any book Julie ever wrote about them. Yes, I wanted my swooning, devoted, darkly love Ash and my pistol of a Puck to make a larger appearance --- but I suppose we need to make room for more characters… We always knew from the very first book that Ethan was special and I am wondering exactly how special and what is role will be in the outcome of the forgotten fey.

Love!

Review --- Effortless

With Thoughtless being S.C. Stephens’ first attempt at a full length novel, I assumed I would see growth between the debut novel and the sequel. Effortless was written in a completely different way. Now, I am not a writer so I am not going to attempt to explain this… But it was just better, more complete, less confusing. S.C. Stephens open up her vocabulary and really brought to life the entirely epic novel.

With that said, I still had issues with Kiera… She was the person I disliked the most… More than Griffin. But I suppose we are being submerged into the mind of a very broken character and allowances must be made.  

S.C. Stephens created such a genuine environment for the reader … I honestly felt like I knew Kellan and the rest of the D-Bags (which I totally hate that name with a firey passion), the girls at Pete’s… Anna (who I fell in love with!) I mean Kiera just had such an amazing group of friends and family in Effortless.

Kellan and Kiera have many, many things to work through in this novel… As Kellan goes on tour and Kiera is left in Seattle… It most certainly is heartbreaking at times, and we see how when relationships begin with lies it is all too often easier to continue the lies.

Just a word to the wise … I loved this book --- yes it was long and at times annoying but I really, really enjoyed it. With that said, this books is heavy in mature content just, like the first… maybe even a little more steamy at time… but the romance between Kellan and Kiera is just absolutely beautiful. So, if you aren’t too keen on hot and heavy --- you may want to pass…

Now…

This all begs a question --- Could there/should there be a third book? I know 

that apparently the author has promised a third book --- but Effortless ends at such a beautiful place that I am wondering if another novel is dragging the whole mess out too far --- UNLESS it is written from Kellan POV! OHMIGOD ;) That would be fantastic! 

Review --- Thoughtless

Thoughtless 

S.C. Stephens 

I 100% agree and understand why people say they have a love/hate relationship with this book!

First off, I really, really disliked Kiera…

From the start --- she was naïve and way to awkward!  She thought everything was gross or nasty or too sexy! That bothered me … if she had more of an edge to her personality we would have gotten along just fine. But it seemed to be her passion and fire was only apparent when she was with Kellan ---

She made rash and “thoughtless” decisions constantly hurting the two men in her life so badly I wanted to punch her in the face. Her insecurities also really annoyed me. LISTEN --- YOU HAVE TWO BEAUTIFUL MEN WHO WANT YOUR BODY! STOP CALLING YOURSELF PLAIN! Ughhh!

So… obviously Kiera was the hate part of my relationship with this book

Denny --- sweet? – yes – devotes? – here is when 600 pages of writing can skew ones judgment. HE LEFT HER --- remember!? For months! Only called her a few times a week --- encouraged her to go out --- TOOK A JOB WITHOUT ASKING AFTER HE ALREADY MOVED HER ACROSS THE COUNTRY! ---  SO let us not forget that Denny lovers…

Kellan – Hot and so very, very bruised. I felt horrible for him… He only tried to comfort Kiera and she took him on a ride that ended in complete heart break. I just don’t understand.

Found this on Goodreads --- I would say this is a great way to envision  our main characters :) 

This book had a very riveting plot… Some things got annoying and many words were over used like chuckled and blushing. I almost stopped reading because on one page “deeply blushing” was repeated multiple times. However, this did not stop me. The book is absolutely steamy--- hot to a new level --- and I will read the sequel even though I might literally find someone named Kiera just to punch her in the face.

One last thought --- I really need authors to describe what the characters are wearing … I know this sounds stupid --- but it’s really difficult if I can’t envision their sense of style … done and done. 

Review --- Beautiful Disaster!

Beautiful Disaster

Jamie McGuire

Jamie's Website!

5 Stars

Yep! This was just one hot mess! But in the best way possible! It was extremely refreshing to read a novel where college life wasn't glamorized, but instead gave us more truth than fantasy.

Abby – A beautiful, trouble freshmen who is in a desperate attempt to run away from her childhood. In the beginning, we are left in the dark about what Abby’s past really entails, but everything falls into place. And if there is one this for sure it is that she wants to forget who she was and make sure nobody except her best friend knows about her past. I loved this girl. She was feisty, stubborn, and in a very big way selfless.

America – Abby’s best friend who promises to be her concession and go anywhere she goes. They stick by each other’s side through this entire disaster. I would love an eccentric, outspoken friend like Mare.  

Travis – This poor boy. At times he is a complete asshole and in other moments the sweetest lost puppy you have ever seen! Now this kid is just a complete mess. Sex, drinking, and fighting are the only things on his mind, ever! He can have any girl he wants and he uses every one of them to fill a void in his life (yeah I just got all psychology 101 on ya).

Shep – Travis’s cousin and roommate --- and America’s devoted, STABLE boyfriend …

Together these 4 create a world of messy situations in which Travis and Abby are at the center of the tragedy… Because as you can already imagine --- a boy falls for a girl and they are both extremely damaged…

I loved this novel. The author never held back and I completely respect that. It was funny, shocking, romantic, infuriating… and all those things make a lovely time in my mind.  

Review --- Time Between Us

Time Between Us
Tamara Ireland Stone

4 Stars ---

Well, what do ya know?? I am a fan of time travel.

I really had no idea what to expect from this novel. I skimmed over from reviews and most everyone seemed just tickled by it…

For me, reading is an emission to another world. I crave the feeling of being lost in the characters and story line. It’s important for the author to be strong and convincing when dealing with slightly fictional plots.

I never once felt labored while reading. Tamara Ireland Stone could have been writing about caterpillars and wasps nests and I would have been eating up every word. Her words just flew off the page with such ease.

The charming characters:

Anna --- she has a lovely personality. She is determined, strong-willed, and extremely forgiving.

Emma --- Anna’s best friend --- she is British, a little off the wall… and maybe a little too oblivious for her own good. But her love for Anna is 100% apparent throughout the entire novel.

Justin --- Anna’s other best friends since they wee ones --- I wanted to know more about his character … But what I did know was he was a sweetheart and would do anything for Anna.

And then there is Bennett --- A 17 year old from 2012 (it seems so futuristic and then I realize--- Holy crap! It’s 2012!) He has a talent for time traveling. Although, over the years he has figured out there are certain rules that apply… After making a little mistake and must be undone --- Bennett has to wait it out in 1995 in Evanston, Illinois --- And what do you know? That is where he meets our lovely friends from 1995 –Anna, Emma, and Justin-

There is a bunch of sweet moments in this story. It is definitely a fast read. I loved it… The author was fabulous at creating romantic moments but when it came to the kiss --- things feel apart for me. I am a big kissy kinda girl.

Read it --- Nuff Said