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Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Delirium (Delirium, #1)
by Lauren Oliver (Goodreads Author)

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This is set in the future US where love has been diagnosed as a disease and all people must be "cured" on their 18th birthday. The book never explicitly explains the cure but it sounds like a lobotomy. The main narrator, Lena, is all for the cure unt...more

Kassa rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Revolution 19
by Gregg Rosenblum (Goodreads Author)

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This is a post-apocalyptic story about a world where robots have taken over the world to save humans from themselves, supposedly. It stars 3 teen siblings fighting to rescue their parents, who were taken by robots. The premise is decent and action in...more

Kassa rated a book 2 of 5 stars

Love the Sinner (Brooklyn Sinners, #1)
by Avril Ashton (Goodreads Author)

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In my quest to experience new authors, Avril Ashton is my pick from Ellora’s Cave. While there are numerous good reasons why EC is not a publisher I go to when choosing books (esp m/m books) this particular choice wasn’t horrific. As that’s not a rin...more In my quest to experience new authors, Avril Ashton is my pick from Ellora’s Cave. While there are numerous good reasons why EC is not a publisher I go to when choosing books (esp m/m books) this particular choice wasn’t horrific. As that’s not a ringing endorsement, I found the writing to be standard if unimaginative, the characters to be stereotypical and predictable, the story littered with clichés, and a plot that didn’t always make much sense. Yet I found the book ok and finished it without having to force myself. I like the concept of the characters and the plot more than the actual execution. I know there are 2 more books in the series that tempt me because I like the potential of the characters and the situations. I’m just not entirely sure the writing can execute them.

In the opener of the series straight cop Gabe interviews notorious gang leader Angelo about the death of his sister. Supposedly sparks fly immediately and the two are instantly in love and obsession. This is a tough sell and the story doesn’t really try to get the readers to buy it. Once the two men are in love, the rest of the story is about the push and pull of opposing dynamics. The set up is that as a cop, Gabe must set aside his beliefs to be with Angelo. While Angelo the gangster is more than what he appears.

I like the concept of the story and although it’s nothing original, I am fine to read such a story. Unfortunately the plot doesn’t really do anything with the idea. Gabe isn’t an active cop for the entirety of the story so there’s very little, if any, real conflict there. Angelo is working the entire time with secret goals – the gangster with a good heart and morals. I would have liked it a lot more if Gabe had to accept the reality of a gangster with no golden ulterior motives. That would have been more conflict and genuine drama. Instead Gabe pulls a fit at random intervals and breaks up with Angelo for no real reason. He creates some big scene so the story can prolong the happy ending but the two immediately get back together after Gabe pouts for a short while how much it hurts but it’s the right thing to do.

The problem with this is that the behavior never made any sense. Gabe would be 100% supportive then out of the blue flip out and leave. Angelo always justified the behavior but I found these rationales to be weak and usually untrue. The two men could have a passionate dynamic and while they have quite a lot of graphic sex, I never found these scenes to be that hot or romantic. I couldn’t buy into the instant, life-changing love the two felt; partly because the two characters are one dimensional and often predictable. They never lived up to the potential within the stereotypes, similar to the plot also lacking any additional depth beyond the basics.

There are numerous secondary characters that suffer the same problem. They could be interesting but they stay very safe and easy without any added work or help. I’d say that’s the biggest overall problem with the story itself. For example the story is set in Brooklyn but I had no sense of the city and it could have been set anywhere in the US. The urban background is missing entirely and is replaced with a bland, non descript, unimportant feeling of random houses the characters shift in and out of.

All of these problems mean the story is not that great, however, it’s not horrible. I found it easy to read and the writing is pretty standard. I kept wanting the plot to go somewhere new and interesting, although when it finally did (the ending) it made absolutely no sense and actually created so many questions. I liked the secondary characters that star in the sequels but I have little confidence the plot and characterizations are any better. So I’m on the fence. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this as something to buy but I didn’t mind reading it on a slow night.(less)

Kassa rated a book 2 of 5 stars

The Casual Vacancy
by J.K. Rowling

read in May, 2013

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Having recently finished The Casual Vacancy on audio book, I’m left wondering at the point of the entire story and why I wasted so much time on this book. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad book, but I think it’s over written with a wandering plot...more Having recently finished The Casual Vacancy on audio book, I’m left wondering at the point of the entire story and why I wasted so much time on this book. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad book, but I think it’s over written with a wandering plot and abrupt ending, but it’s definitely not a great, wonderful, read over and over again book (like the Harry Potter series). The prose often feels as though it’s trying entirely too hard to be clever and unique while the plot never has a cohesive trajectory. The vast cast of characters is certainly multifaceted and nuanced but entirely reprehensible with not a single likeable character in the entire book. I don’t really know what point the author was trying to convey with this book, nor what the book is actually about.

The entire story revolves around a small town in England called Pagford. The book starts with the death of a well-liked member of the community, who also sat on the parish council. His seat is now up for grabs and initially the book makes a big deal about this general election to fill the seat. This gives the impression that the main thrust of the story is about the election and the various underhanded actions of everyone associated in some way to it. However, this plot point soon peters out to a very anticlimactic ending of the election. By this time, the cast doesn’t even care about the election anymore although the book continues for some time after this so clearly the election really isn’t the main point.

Another possible purpose of the book is to highlight the various community members of Pagford and how they are all horrible in their own ways. Here the book does an incredible job offering nuanced and reasoned characterizations for every single person. Almost everyone is a major character with a narrative voice and the book takes great pains to show the various circumstances and disappointments that led to them being dreadful people. This is easily a double edged sword because while the characterization may be outstanding, it still leaves the reader with a cast of awful, unlikable people doing terrible things, although seemingly justifiable at the time.

One of the reasons I didn’t like this book is that there’s not a single character you can root for and hope their life improves. Each one does something abhorrent or is frankly unlikable in his/her own right. The closest I came to liking someone was feeling pity for Andrew Price and Sukhvinder Jawanda. The rest of Pagford are self absorbed and I didn’t like listening to any of their thoughts or justifications. I kept wondering what the point of it all was and why I should care about any of them. I stayed with the book partially in hopes that the plot would reveal some grand plan for all the characters but instead it ends abruptly with no real closure to anyone/anything.

Additionally I found the writing occasionally painful. I liked the clean, vivid imagery of Rowling’s other books with writing that allowed for a great deal of subtext. Here I felt the prose was awkward and verbose, often tripping over itself to be clever. The imagery felt too melodramatic and repetitive instead of fresh and interesting. Here I could hear the narrator occasionally having trouble with some of the phrasing, which only increased my impression of the loquacious prose.

Ultimately this isn’t a book I’d recommend. I think the author clearly has a lot of skill, as demonstrated by the compelling and fully nuanced cast, but at the same time I think the story has little to no real focus and less likability. Hopefully this isn’t a series and any future books will be better. I don’t want to give this the GR 1 star, although I didn’t like it, because I think it’s better written than that. However I do think it deserves the 2 star rating.(less)

Kassa made a comment on her review of Dark Space

"LOL sorry I meant semi."

Kassa rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Freedom
by Jay Kirkpatrick

read in May, 2013

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I chose Freedom based on a suggestion. I didn’t read the blurb but went in with high expectations. I quite liked the book for most of it, though once the group broke out of the hospital and were on the run, things started to fall apart. The ending is...more I chose Freedom based on a suggestion. I didn’t read the blurb but went in with high expectations. I quite liked the book for most of it, though once the group broke out of the hospital and were on the run, things started to fall apart. The ending is nicely wrapped up but I was left with a lot of questions. Most of all I couldn’t buy into the chemistry between the two lead characters and I found one of the lead men to be weak and uninteresting. These two issues definitely killed some of the reading enjoyment for me. At the same time the writing and creativity are high and I’d cautiously recommend this one. I’m on the fence whether I’d read this author again.

The premise is a post-apocalyptic society where survivors are classed with Talents. These are Psychic talents that manifest in a variety of recognizable ways. Patrick is an Empath and works at a local hospital. He is assigned to treat an unknown man who was picked up off the street, battered and bruised. This unknown man, Jac, has numerous high level Talents and is soon endangered because of them. Now Patrick and others must work to free Jac before he can be apprehended and locked in a lab.

The actual plot is somewhat more complicated and complex than the simplistic summary may suggest, but those are the essential elements. The creativity is pretty high and the author/story did a good job incorporating decent world building and background information. There are no clunky blocks of exposition but instead a smooth transition of dialogue, information, and action. The prose is clean and evocative. The first half of the story while Jac is in the hospital is especially riveting. The dynamics between the characters and details incorporated make for a quick, exciting read.

I especially liked the character of Jac and the interplay between him and Patrick. I could see a connection, of some sort, and sped through the pages with ease. Once Jac’s partner, Rob, is introduced and the group quickly leaves the hospital then the plot, pacing, and interest fell off sharply for me. Here the plot suffers, as there are additional characters that feel distracting, even as they have a point and are interesting in their own right. The race to get away from the government worker feels very uneven - hurry up, wait, hurry up to confrontation. There are additional peripheral dramas, such as Jac’s mental wanderings, that left me confused as to their purpose.

One main issue I had during this part of the book was that Patrick completely unravels. He turns from a somewhat competent man to unintelligent, naïve, and ineffectual. He literally does nothing to help anyone and in fact hinders numerous people in multiple ways. His abrupt shift from compassionate worker/friend to naïve foil made me dislike him and he never recovered in my opinion. His connection with Jac feels weak compared to the strength of Rob and Jac’s bond. I never really saw why Jac was so enamored with Patrick or why he would chose him over Rob. I can extrapolate and make assumptions but I didn’t feel that connection between them.

On the plus side I think the story is creative and well written. It has good world building, a complicated and fascinating cast of characters (all of whom I liked better than Patrick), and a decent story. For most of the book, the pages fly by with interest but the last third kind of lost me as a reader. The plot and lead character turned and never recovered for me. I’d cautiously recommend this as it’s an enjoyable book on the whole, but I’m not sure I’d trust this author again. If readers aren’t as turned off by the last third they should enjoy this considerably more.(less)

Kassa is on page 150 of 232 of Freedom: Kind of hating Patrick a lot... not very bright.

Freedom
by Jay Kirkpatrick

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Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Dark Space
by Lisa Henry (Goodreads Author)

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I quite enjoyed reading Dark Space. It has some decent world building, a semi interesting plot, a well-developed narrator, and a happy ending. That’s not to say it was without problems, as there were numerous issues, but on the whole I enjoyed readin...more I quite enjoyed reading Dark Space. It has some decent world building, a semi interesting plot, a well-developed narrator, and a happy ending. That’s not to say it was without problems, as there were numerous issues, but on the whole I enjoyed reading this more than I thought. So much so I’ll be checking out the author’s other books. I think the whole of the story elevates the enjoyment and makes up for the individual problems. For a reader who is not as engaged with the writing, this story could be frustrating.

The sci-fi plot is very solidly set in space. Brady Garrett is a 19 y/o recruit with 7 more years of his 10-year service conscription. He’s desperate to get out of the military so he can take care of his now 6 y/o sister and he tries to get through his days by keeping his head down and being as innocuous as possible; that all changes when hero Cameron Rushton returns after his abduction four years ago. Cameron was taken by alien enemies, called Faceless, and has returned with a message. However, in the process of Cameron’s return he’s inexplicably linked with Garrett. Now the two share a heartbeat, memories, thoughts, and feelings. They live in each other’s thoughts. As if that wasn’t shocking and scary enough, the Faceless are returning, which means certain death.

The sci-fi aspects of the world building are nice, although a mixture of post-apocalyptic and typical space frontierism. Almost the entire story takes place on a space station so there’s little need to embellish on the expected world building, though the story does make a few nice additions and details that are appreciated. The enemies, the Faceless, are an especially well crafted touch and I liked any scenes that involved them or flashbacks/peeks into their technology and culture. I found myself wanting to know more of how the conflict first came about and considering the lopsided nature of it, why it was sustained as long as it was. The world building is solid and one that engaged me throughout the book.

On the flip side, the start is rocky and somewhat choppy. It takes a bit for the writing to settle and find it’s groove, but when it does the plot kicks in nicely. Here the problem soon becomes a sort of hurry up and wait. The story will throw in a lot of quick action and movement, then pause and offer a considerable amount of exposition to catch the reader up on everything they needed to know to understand all the action. This kind of fast-forward then rewind leads to a very uneven pace and can be frustrating. It’s not the best way the story could have integrated the necessary background.

Additionally for a large portion of the story, Garrett and Brady are sequestered alone together. This enforced intimacy forces the relationship to grow quickly, but at the sacrifice of plot and pacing. While the two men are falling in lust and love, the plot pretty much stops entirely and the scenes are repetitious. Although I feel the story could have achieved this goal of a deepening relationship in a much better way, the engaging narrator helps mitigate this problem.

For me the narrator, Garrett, is at once the best aspect and the worst. He is the sole voice and sole reasoning that the reader sees, while every other character feels like an ill-defined shadow at best while Garrett shines in technicolor. Garrett is desperately young and incredibly immature. His reactions to almost all events frustrated me and on several occasions I wanted to slap him, though I know it wouldn’t have helped. Yet at the same time I could appreciate the authenticity and genuine honesty of the flawed character. He is so far from perfect I wouldn’t have minded if the story had toned down his irrational rage and immaturity, but it gives a strong focus against a somewhat an inactive background.

Finally I appreciated the happy ending, which I didn’t think was possible. However, it also feels weak and tacked on; almost as if the story and writing didn’t know how to create the happy ending so with some hand waving, implausible and unexplained actions, suddenly a HEA appears. It’s not a strength of the story but like I said, I wanted there to be a HEA so I wasn’t complaining.

Overall the sum of the parts leads to a greater and more enjoyable reading experience than the elements. The writing is very engaging and the creativity helps smooth out rough spots. I found myself not wanting to put the book down even as I would get frustrated with certain characters or actions. I wanted to see what would happen and I was genuinely curious if a happy ending would occur. I’d easily recommend this to sci-fi and gay-for-you fans. While I probably wouldn’t read this particular story again, I’m glad I did and I would happily revisit this world.(less)

Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The Heracian Affair
by Liv Olteano (Goodreads Author)

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DSP is hit or miss but I’m extremely pleased I seem to have hit with this choice. The writing is smooth, engaging, and interesting while there is a considerable amount of hot sex, almost too much. I’m not complaining as this is smutty good fun with s...more DSP is hit or miss but I’m extremely pleased I seem to have hit with this choice. The writing is smooth, engaging, and interesting while there is a considerable amount of hot sex, almost too much. I’m not complaining as this is smutty good fun with some solid writing and decent, if sketchy, world building. As far as sci-fi/erotica offerings go, I quite enjoyed this quick novella and would definitely go back for more from this author.

The story is about Rizzo, a disgruntled human who gets kidnapped by an alien race that look exactly like humans. This alien race, Heracians, is part artificial intelligence and part human biology. They need to mate with humans to ensure the AI part of their makeup doesn’t take over. If the AI does take over, the end result is usually death. So basically their species is dying out without the intervention and help of humans breeding with them. Enter Rizzo! He’s willing to help out with a “donation” but his attitude and blundering place him solidly within the dominant grasp of Captain Conrad. Just when the two seem to screw each other into love and happiness, their future is uncertain.

To start with I was uncertain about Rizzo because he’s basically an asshole. There’s very little that redeems him for most of the story, though I can’t say I hated him. He definitely grew on me and his dedication and strength at the end was touching. I have to give the story credit as it built a very nuanced and layered character in Rizzo. I think it wasn’t entirely successful but for the most part he’s definitely interesting. Conrad is the picture of a control freak dom. I liked him even though he’s not the most developed character. I especially liked the two of them together as they have some scorching chemistry and fit each other well.

There is a ton of erotica in this short novella. That’s not a bad thing as it’s very hot and only mild BDSM, more so D/s with the whole claiming “you’re mine” motif through sex. It works for both the characters and I quite enjoyed it. The story did focus a bit too much on this and tended to make simplistic transitions. For example any time the scene changed, Rizzo just passed out and woke up in the new place. Since this seemed to happen every time, I became frustrated with the lack of a more smooth and interesting transition.

Likewise the ending left me wanting, considering I quite enjoyed the story up til then. I don’t want to give spoilers but I thought the scenes with the Zak and recuperation were simply thrown in to add last minute drama. It helped develop the connection between Rizzo and Conrad but the story never says exactly what happened and how they ended up together. It’s just an unfortunate ending to an otherwise strong novella. The sci-fi aspect is interesting and well done. Despite the limited space the world building is sufficient and I personally would love to read more stories set in this world. There are definite holes in the creation and some unexplained questions, just as there are in the plot, but I found these minor and didn’t affect my reading enjoyment.

Overall I’m very pleased with this offering and can recommend it. It’s short, just over 100 pages, so not much of a commitment and there’s a lot of sex (which makes for a fast read). Sci-fi and mild BDSM fans will enjoy this the most but I think the smooth writing and creative imagery are worth checking out as well. I’m looking forward to reading more of this new-to-me author. Success!(less)

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Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars Delirium (Delirium, #1) by Lauren Oliver (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is set in the future US where love has been diagnosed as a disease and all people must be "cured" on their 18th birthday. The book never explicitly explains the cure but it sounds like a lobotomy. The main narrator, Lena, is all for the cure unt...more
May 21, 2013 05:10pm · see review
Kassa rated a book 3 of 5 stars Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a post-apocalyptic story about a world where robots have taken over the world to save humans from themselves, supposedly. It stars 3 teen siblings fighting to rescue their parents, who were taken by robots. The premise is decent and action in...more
May 21, 2013 05:02pm · see review
Kassa rated a book 2 of 5 stars Love the Sinner (Brooklyn Sinners, #1) by Avril Ashton (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In my quest to experience new authors, Avril Ashton is my pick from Ellora’s Cave. While there are numerous good reasons why EC is not a publisher I go to when choosing books (esp m/m books) this particular choice wasn’t horrific. As that’s not a rin...more
May 21, 2013 11:34am · see review
Kassa rated a book 2 of 5 stars The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Having recently finished The Casual Vacancy on audio book, I’m left wondering at the point of the entire story and why I wasted so much time on this book. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad book, but I think it’s over written with a wandering plot...more
May 16, 2013 12:09pm · see review
Kassa made a comment on her review of Dark Space "LOL sorry I meant semi."
May 16, 2013 12:09pm · see review
Kassa rated a book 3 of 5 stars Freedom by Jay Kirkpatrick read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I chose Freedom based on a suggestion. I didn’t read the blurb but went in with high expectations. I quite liked the book for most of it, though once the group broke out of the hospital and were on the run, things started to fall apart. The ending is...more
May 13, 2013 08:54am · see review
Kassa is on page 150 of 232 of Freedom: Kind of hating Patrick a lot... not very bright. Freedom by Jay Kirkpatrick progress:	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 09, 2013 12:39pm · like · see status
Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars Dark Space by Lisa Henry (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I quite enjoyed reading Dark Space. It has some decent world building, a semi interesting plot, a well-developed narrator, and a happy ending. That’s not to say it was without problems, as there were numerous issues, but on the whole I enjoyed readin...more
May 09, 2013 10:47am · see review
Kassa rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Heracian Affair by Liv Olteano (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
DSP is hit or miss but I’m extremely pleased I seem to have hit with this choice. The writing is smooth, engaging, and interesting while there is a considerable amount of hot sex, almost too much. I’m not complaining as this is smutty good fun with s...more
May 06, 2013 07:44am · see review

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