false 37 629 158 true 5685625 read 12 true 4089877 currently-reading 459 true 4089876 to-read 163 false 4784070 to-buy 64 false 5017728 for-review 6 false 5463757 covers 5 false 4657531 first-reads 2 false 5360541 audio 1 false 4775339 rereads http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66475393 to: Give Up the Ghost (Hardcover) by Megan Crewe
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GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe was a slightly different book than the one I was expecting. I thought the story would be fairly juvenile, but the premise still looked very interesting. I’m happy to say, however, that GIVE UP THE GHOST was really a great read. The story was complex and engaging with enough material to keep the reader entertained the whole way through. I would recommend this book to both young adults and adults alike.

GIVE UP THE GHOST is the story of Cass, a seventeen year old girl with more than her grades to worry about. Being in high school, we already know that life is going to be tough for our heroine. Combine that with the fact that she’s constantly receiving fashion advice from her dead sister and digging up the dirt on everyone at school, and you’ve got one busy young woman!

We journey through the story with Cass as she uses her abilities to talk with the dead to save the more unfortunate souls at the school. Everyone has secrets they’d rather keep hidden, but if they’re going to discuss them or do them in the open where any dead guy could see, well, they’re just asking for trouble. With a little romantic twist in the book and a full plot, Crewe gives us quite a bit to chew on and think about.

One of my favorite aspects of GIVE UP THE GHOST is Cass herself. In order for me to really fall in love with a book, I need to see some good character development. A story can be phenomenal, but if it has dead characters (no pun intended) then the story just kind of withers and fades away for me. Crewe did an excellent job, however, of breathing life into Cass and the other characters. I actually bookmarked the page where I knew that GIVE UP THE GHOST was going to be fantastic – page 28. That early into the book and I knew that this was a great story. I attribute this largely to the way Crewe rounded Cass out. We get to learn about her wants and dreams, her background, her future, and everything that makes her up. The characters in Crewe’s book aren’t just machines to keep the story going; instead they are vessels of knowledge and emotion. Like I said - fantastic character development.

I think the other part that really sold GIVE UP THE GHOST for me was the story itself. As I mentioned, I was expecting something a little younger out of this book, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story, while still catering to young adults, was full of enough depth to satisfy a reader of any age. GIVE UP THE GHOST held a darker picture than one would originally think. I figured that Cass’s ghosts would run around doing silly pranks and generally causing a fun bit of chaos, but instead the ghosts help us look into the true side of people. The theme of truth seems to reign in GIVE UP THE GHOST and sometimes that truth isn’t pretty.

Overall I would have to give GIVE UP THE GHOST high marks. This was a wonderful story and one that made me an instant fan of Crewe’s. I’m excited to keep my eye out for this wonderful author and see what else she has hidden up her sleeve.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58384232 to: Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley (Paperback) by Sharon Lathan
bookshelves: for-review
Fans of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will fall in love with LOVING MR. DARCY: JOURNEYS BEYOND PEMBERLEY by Sharon Lathan. Lizzy and Darcy’s story continues in this book and give us a nice glimpse of what happens when you mix spunky Lizzy with the more serious Darcy. I found Lathan’s interpretation to be romantic, captivating and largely entertaining. This is a book that I would definitely recommend to any lovers of Romance, Historical or otherwise.

Ever wondered what happened after Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were married? I always figured that the story just ended there but Lathan has allowed us to delve back in to that world of romance and intrigue to explore the relationships a little further.

LOVING MR. DARCY takes us through the lives of Elizabeth and Darcy as they move to their London home and experiences the joys and less than stellar aspects of the city. A major change going on with Elizabeth creates drama in the story as does meeting new people and catching up with old friends. I will warn readers, this is the second book in a series after Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy and while the book is okay to read on its own, I don’t know that I would call it a stand-alone. Events took place in the first book that largely shape the characters in LOVING MR. DARCY and having not read the first book, I found myself often confused.

With Lathan’s books, there is a lot of talk about whether or not Jane Austen purists will fall in love with Lathan’s characters as much as they did Austen’s. Well, Lathan is not Austen. They are two separate individual writers and as such their characters differ slightly. Elizabeth and Darcy are not the exact same characters as the Elizabeth and Darcy in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but the story was entertaining nonetheless.

Lathan does a wonderful job of imbuing the story with emotion. As we journey with Mr. and Mrs. Darcy on the road to discovering the depth of their love, Lathan makes every moment count. Whether it’s happiness, sadness or even at times a bit of anger, the emotions are vivid and pop off the page to affect the reader. This really helped to draw me in and hook me. The intensity of the actions sequences didn’t hurt either.

Fair warning time: This is a modern interpretation of Austen’s work and as such contains adult themes and adult scenes. I would give it a sensuality rating of 3.5 out of 5.

I found LOVING MR. DARCY to be an enjoyable read. If you go into the story with the understanding that you are not going to get a book written by Austen and that the characters may differ slightly, I think the you’ll get a decent amount of enjoyment yourself. The story is great in its own right and would be a fantastic read for any out there who love Romance. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69733970 to: Darcy and Anne: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Lady Catherine will never find a husband for Anne... (Paperback) by Judith Brocklehurst
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Judith Brocklehurst has brought us a lovely and humorous tale with DARCY AND ANNE. In this Jane Austen “sequel”, Brocklehurst shows us what happened with dear Anne de Bourgh now that her intended, Darcy is no longer available. This was a lovely story and I was quickly drawn in. Fans of Austen’s will most likely adore DARCY AND ANNE.

Now alone and without even a female companion to help pass the time, Anne is at the whim of her overbearing mother. What’s a girl to do when the woman providing you food and shelter insists that it’s time to be married off? Anne and her husband would of course come back and live with Lady Catherine as the sole purpose of this escapade is to find more entertainment for the odd Lady. Wanting nothing to do with her mother’s schemes but having no way to stop them, Anne is forced to travel with her to the home of Darcy and his new wife, Elizabeth. When Anne is suddenly separated from her mother, however, life shines a little brighter. Anne learns independence and discovers her own spirit, something that will be difficult for her mother to quash once they are reunited.

I found DARCY AND ANNE to be quite entertaining. By page two I had already had a couple laugh out loud moments and the whole feel of the story was light and fun. Watching Anne as she learns about herself and interacts with Elizabeth is great. Brocklehurst has a way of making the character interactions seem very realistic. There were often times when I felt that I was listening to the women talk or watching Anne blush rather than just reading it on the page.

The story of DARCY AND ANNE is just as good as Brocklehurst’s development of the characters. I’m not an expert on the time period so I will refrain from passing any judgment on the historical accuracy, but the story did seem likely and was definitely entertaining. Anne seemed to act like most cases of downtrodden women suddenly asserting their own independence that I have been familiar with. The romance in the story was beautiful in all aspects, even when things got a little awkward.

My favorite aspect of DARCY AND ANNE had to be the humor. We always knew that Anne de Bourgh was a little awkward. Her slightly sickly nature and disastrous mother lead to a great backdrop for Brocklehurst to create Anne’s character and more importantly her character change.

I would definitely have to recommend DARCY AND ANNE to lovers of Austen’s world and the characters that she created. Now, these characters may not be exact replicas of the original Darcy and Elizabeth. DARCY AND ANNE was, after all, written by a different author; however, I feel that the flow of the story and the character relationships do closely resemble Austen’s original work. My only wish for DARCY AND ANNE would be that it had gone on a little longer. The book was fairly short and easy to read, but it seemed that the ending may have rushed a little. I would have loved to spend more time with the last quarter of the book.

Fans of Romance and Historical fiction will love DARCY AND ANNE. Grab a warm blanket, a comfy chair and curl up with DARCY AND ANNE as Brocklehurst transports you to another place and time. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58384215 to: The Plight of the Darcy Brothers: A tale of the Darcys & the Bingleys (Paperback) by Marsha Altman
bookshelves: for-review
How does a tale of romance and intrigue sound? Marsha Altman has taken Jane Austen’s characters and created an emotional story that actually left me on the edge of my seat in THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS: A TALE OF THE DARCYS & THE BINGLEYS. I expected romance, which we definitely received throughout the story and I expected a fair amount of drama as always follows the Bennet daughters. What I didn’t expect was to actually be flipping the pages as quickly as I did in an attempt to figure out what little disaster would befall our beloved characters next.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS begins emotionally and ends emotionally. Suffering a saddening loss, Elizabeth jumps at the opportunity to escape with her sister Jane for a bit to discover what has her sister Mary so wound up. Just returned from her schooling, Mary divulges a secret that gets the sisters riled up and off in search of answers. While on their hunt for the truth, Darcy ends up making some discoveries of his own and eventually finds himself face to face with the despicable Mr. Wickham.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS is actually the second book in Altman’s Pride & Prejudice Continues series. Although I had not read the first book, I didn’t find myself too hung up on the details. Altman created a story that was easy to become engaged with and developed the plot in a way that this book could stand alone relatively well if need be.

I was surprised to find the amount of humor that I did in THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS. The beginning of the book, as I mentioned, was full of wonderfully written emotion. I was sure that the story was going to get dark and remain dark throughout. Surprisingly, the emotional toll on the reader rarely let up, but the story definitely did not keep a dark edge to it. There were quite a few chuckle moments and other moments where I had read the section again just to witness the scene one more time.

I loved how Altman developed her characters and brought each one to life. Instead of just focusing on a couple of characters and revolving the story around them, Altman really gave us a good look into a handful of characters and showed us how they impact the overall story. I love that we got the story of both the Bennet sisters and the Darcy brothers, each trying to solve a puzzle. On top of that, I think Altman did great justice to the characters. I felt like she preserved the feel of the Austen books while still adding her own edge to it.

Altman did a wonderful job of creating a story that the reader could really get drawn down into. It was very easy to visualize the scenes and I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least to see the characters pop off the page and begin reenacting the book in front of me. This was another book where I lost track of the time while reading. Coming from me, that’s a good thing. It means that the book was so engaging that I quickly lost myself in it. I have a feeling that any of Altman’s readers have a hard time not losing themselves in her words.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS definitely earns top marks. This was a wonderful sequel (to a sequel) and I would be more than pleased to read this one again. Fans of Romance or Historical fiction will find something to love in Altman’s book. The love between Darcy and Elizabeth seems to be timeless, regardless of the author, and the action as well as the suspense in this book definitely helped to make it a winner.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42829986 to: Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4) by Richelle Mead
Richelle Mead is the fabulous author of the Vampire Academy series. The series started with Vampire Academy, was followed by Frostbite and continued with Shadow Kiss. Each book became more and more intense as danger enters the lives of Moroi Lissa and her Guardian Rose. I admit that I was nervous about BLOOD PROMISE. It has been long awaited and we all know that far too often when we count down the seconds for a new book it turns out to be a dud. I gradually fell in love with Mead’s books and was praying that BLOOD PROMISE would continue that fantastic story that Mead had laid out. By the end of the first page I could tell that BLOOD PROMISE was most definitely a winner.

At this point in the review I typically like to give you a quick synopsis of the book from my point of view. This review is going to be more difficult than past reviews for the simple fact that anything I tell you about BLOOD PROMISE will be a spoiler for the first three books. I’ll do my best though.

In short, Rose has a personal quest that she must fulfill and the journey to complete this quest ends up changing her life. Lissa, being the important person that she is, yet again faces hardship and drama. As with the previous three books, the two girls love each other and must find a way to save each other. That’s about all I can tell you without giving away the previous books and especially Shadow Kiss.

What I can tell you about Mead’s latest book is that it surpasses the first three by far. Mead has taken this fantastic world of the Moroi (living vampires), the Dhampir (half vampire), and the Strigoi (dead and cruel vampires) and taken it to a whole new level. The emotions running throughout this book are intense. I cried in a few parts, I laughed in others. Some scenes had my sitting on the edge of the seat in a near panic as I flipped the pages as fast as possible reading to find out what happens next. For me, this was the most surprising aspect of BLOOD PROMISE. While the first three books were good and entertaining, I would say that this book rivals some of the best Paranormals, Romances, and Young Adult books out there.

There were some tricky parts that Mead had to work through in order for BLOOD PROMISE to work. I was curious as to how this would work out, but in the end what she did to make the story work was seamless and worked nicely. Sometimes that’s not always the case as the author ends up having to change some of the best parts of the world that have created in order to get the big twists and turns to work. The fact that Mead could create new and interesting ways to make the story work is a tribute to her talent as an author.

The character development in BLOOD PROMISE was absolutely fantastic. I don’t really expect to learn much new about any main character by the fourth book, but that’s exactly what happened in BLOOD PROMISE. We get a deeper look into many of our favorite characters but especially Lissa and Rose. Along with the introduction of some new characters, Mead manages to take an established series and still give it a new and fresh feel. That in and of itself would have been enough to continue reading BLOOD PROMISE. The stunning story between the covers was certainly icing on the cake.

Fair warning time: There are mentions of adult themes. There are no graphic scenes (in my opinion) and I would give this a sensuality rating of 3 like Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely.

What’s not to love? I couldn’t find any huge writing errors, the pace was beautiful, and the characters immediately came to life. It’s obvious the love and care that Mead imbues her writing with. If I hadn’t already been a fan of hers or a fan of the series, this book would hook me immediately.

I recommend this book to any fans of Young Adult fiction, Paranormal fiction, and Romance. This is not a lazy book that relies on cool imagery with a less than stellar plot. This has wonderful imagery, a killer plot and an ending that leaves me gasping and begging that the next book (Spirit Bound) was already in my hands. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60461104 Lady Macbeth's Daughter (Hardcover) by Lisa M. Klein
bookshelves: for-review, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58384149 to: Highland Rebel: A Tale of a Rebellious Lady and a Traitorous Lord (Paperback) by Judith James
bookshelves: for-review
There’s nothing like a deliciously handsome bad boy and a wonderfully strong heroine to kick the day up a notch. For that matter, this pairing tends to kick the evening up a notch as well. HIGHLAND REBEL by Judith James was a wonderfully passionate and action filled romance that left me flipping back through the book, searching for more. Her writing flows nicely, her characters come alive and the story was so beautifully developed that the pages would just fly by without me even noticing.

Jamie is the hero of this story and what a hero he is! He’s definitely not your typical knight in shining armor. He can be polite and chivalrous, but typically his demeanor can be described as that of a rogue. Growing up in a tough environment, Jamie had to learn early how to detach himself from the world. He lives his life attempting to create something for himself out of nothing. Jumping back and forth between religions and political side, the only thing he cares about is his self and his own advancement. That is until the day he sees a helpless woman get captured by the band of bloodthirsty and cruel soldiers he is supposed to supervise.

Catherine was her father’s favorite child and often reminded that it was a shame she was born a female. Nevertheless, she spent her childhood in her father’s footsteps and has grown up into something of a tomboy. She accompanies the men on fishing trips and raids, much to the disappointment of her brother and cousin. It’s the latest mission, a mission to rescue one of her kind caught in a battle with the English that might spell Catherine’s demise. Surrounded by men looking for a bit of entertainment, the only prayer in sight is the strange gentleman with the hard eyes and devious scheme. Before she knows it she’s free of the men after her flesh yet she finds herself in the worst place of all: married.

James has written a great story full of so many twists and turns that it was impossible to not stay engaged with the characters. The marriage between Jamie and Catherine occasionally flip flops between being beneficial and a nuisance between one party and the other. This adds a bit of humor to the book at times and suspense at others. The underlying political intrigue is wonderful as we watch Jamie attempt to make a life for himself and Catherine attempt to take back her lands from her overbearing male kin. With a pair so oddly matched, James has really created a great story in making the two rely on each for the solutions to the many problems that arise.

HIGHLAND REBEL is quite the passionate romance and I think a large part of this is due to the fact that James’s characters were so well developed. By the end of the second chapter, Jamie and Catherine already come to life and the reality that they create continues through to the very last page. It’s not easy to create fictional characters with a feel of authenticity, but James has accomplished this in HIGHLAND REBEL and the story is better for it.

Outside of great characters, another thing that really makes a book wonderful to me is the tension. The story needs to have tension – a feeling of being pulled along – in order to capture the readers’ interest and keep them turning the pages. This feeling of tension is what makes you say, “Okay, one more chapter,” and then makes you continue turning the pages after that chapter. I am pleased to say that James did a wonderful job with the tension in HIGHLAND REBEL. I love to read so it’s already difficult for me to put books down but I have been known to do it. With HIGHLAND REBEL, as with a few others, I found myself making excuses to stay up late to read or get up early to get a few extra hours in. Even though I was finally able to put the book down for the night, it haunted my dreams and inevitably would find its way into my hands in the morning. That’s the sign of an awesome book.

Fair warning time: This book has adult themes and adult scenes. I would give it a sensuality rating of 4 out of 5.

I definitely have to give HIGHLAND REBEL top marks. I figured the book might be good from the synopsis, but fell in love with it by the second page. The emotion that James writes with and the ability she has to draw you into the story, making your heartbeat rapidly was just amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great Romance or a great Action. This book encompasses the best of both of those worlds. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67079204 to: Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz: A Quinceañera Club Novel (Paperback) by Belinda Acosta
bookshelves: for-review
DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ: A QUINCEAÑERA CLUB NOVEL by Belinda Acosta was quite the funny and moving read. Full of moments that any mother or daughter can relate to, this story pulled at my heart while leaving me chuckling at the same time. I would highly recommend this book to any lady looking for a nice read, a good laugh and a general feeling of happiness.

All Ana wanted was a nice celebration to mark her daughter’s transition into womanhood. How then, did she end up with mass chaos and destruction? The party is in shambles, her daughter hates her and the world is likely about to end. Where did she go wrong?

DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ follows the story of Ana and her daughter Carmen beginning with the day of the big party. The narrator adds quite a bit of humor as she pauses the event and takes us through the chaotic events that are about to happen. To better understand it all, before the whole party explodes, the narrator brings us back to the day that Ana first decided to throw a Quinceañera for her daughter. Of course Carmen is none too pleased, still blaming Ana for her father leaving and makes life fairly miserable.

The story leading up to the party is full of bratty teenage behavior, tender moments, hilarious moments, and an overall story that makes you think that there just might be hope for all distanced mothers and daughters out there. I found DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ to be highly entertaining and actually quite touching. This is definitely a book that earned a treasured spot on the bookshelf.

As I’ve mentioned, there are quite a few bits of humor thrown throughout the book. Much like the beginning, Acosta writes the story in such a way that you can pause the images in your head and shudder as you know the disaster that’s about to happen. I wouldn’t say that the story is necessarily predictable, but there are times when it’s obvious that something is going to happen. This just made the story that much more enjoyable to me. It added to the humor aspect and then also allowed us to focus on the deeper aspects of the book such as the character’s emotions and the reasons that things are happening the way they are.

Another great aspect of DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ for me was the characters. A lot of work obviously went into the creation of each of the characters, including any minor characters. I felt that the reader really got to know each person and become acquainted with them throughout the entire story. The characters were complex, adding a nice amount of depth to the story and giving us more to ponder. Acosta did a great job with this and really managed to bring her characters to life.

One great thing that I found about DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ was how much I got to learn about another culture through reading the story. Through the language and customs, Acosta seemed to stay fairly true to Ana and Carmen’s culture. I imagine this would be a great read for many girls wanting to learn a little bit more outside of their own culture.

The story was wonderful, the characters detailed and the pacing was just right. I would warn readers; however, that Acosta does give her characters fairly authentic dialog. Throughout the book, Spanish is used quite freely and occasionally I had to look words up to figure out what was going on. I don’t think that it really detracted from the book; instead, I felt like I may have actually learned something in the process! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69227350 Break (Paperback) by Hannah Moskowitz
bookshelves: to-read
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