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| 4.08
| 1,440
| Mar 17, 2015
| Mar 17, 2015
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liked it
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The third book in the Plumber’s series was short and sweet, though unsatisfying for me. The mystery was bland and unappealing honestly and there were
The third book in the Plumber’s series was short and sweet, though unsatisfying for me. The mystery was bland and unappealing honestly and there were some serious problems with Tom’s character (in my opinion) but the romance finally flourished after some unnecessary angst and the story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. The series could either way, I could see it continuing or ending here. Given the ending, I’d be surprised if the author didn’t give at least a short story addressing the last issue but who knows. I think I’m ok to be done with the series as Tom has slowly lost his charm and appeal for me as a reader over the course of the series. He’s interesting and offers a good mess of neuroses and intelligence but his reaction to Phil in this book made me want Phil to run far, far away. I’m curious what other readers will think of this particular offering. Here Phil, and by extension Tom, get asked by their local bar owner, Harry, if they’ll investigate an employee’s ex-boyfriend. Marianne is a blond waif being threatened by her smarmy and legal twisting ex Grant Cary, who doesn’t take no for an answer. Harry is worried that she can’t do anything to help Marianne since Grant managed to box her into a corner with some neat threats. While worrying about Marianne, Harry, and Grant, Tom also has to deal with the revelation of his father and what to do about the information. In the course of investigating Grant Cary, Tom learns more about Phil’s past that puts their relationship in jeopardy. It’s hard to talk about this particular book without spoilers but I’ll do my best. The mystery here is around Grant Cary and his seedy actions. He manages to scare and threaten everyone without making obvious threats; it’s actually incredibly clever and sly. He’s a villain to be sure but one that’s well developed and well written. He’s a great foil for the main cast and his scenes ooze with discomfort and great writing. Grant really makes the “mystery” worthwhile because otherwise it falls pretty flat. There’s honestly not very much to it until a body hits the floor and then the action and intensity ramps up considerably. I found the resolution to this subplot anti-climatic at best, despite the death-defying scene, as the ultimate villain came out of left field and there simply wasn’t much connection between them and the story, let alone the characters. Thus I was left pretty unsatisfied and uninterested in this aspect of the book. I honestly could have done without it entirely. However this “investigation” was what led to the real tension between Tom and Phil. Tom learns some information about Phil/his past and of course leaps to some horrible conclusions. This was where the book kind of lost me as a fan. I didn’t understand Tom’s thought process and why his mind went where it did. Furthermore his confrontation with Phil was so hypocritical that I kept thinking Phil should walk away and never return. Then the resolution with Phil practically begging Tom not to leave him made me scream. Tom should have been the one apologizing, repeatedly, not the other way around. Especially with the story being in Tom’s head I thought Phil was the wronged party and I didn’t really think Tom appreciated and respected Phil. I was surprised by these scenes to be honest and it doesn’t bode well for their relationship. I honestly don’t see these two together long term sadly. What worked for the story was once again Merrow’s clean writing and quirky British sense of humor. The atmosphere was entertaining and engaging and the various different characters returning made a nice continuity, sort of like visiting old friends. The series started out on a high note but has been slowly falling since then, partly because the mysteries haven’t been as interesting as the first one. Also Tom and Phil’s relationship is definitely ripe with possibility for tension and misunderstanding but the areas the stories have chosen to probe haven’t really worked for me as a reader unfortunately. I think I’d continue with the series if there was a fourth book but I’m cautious and would want a mystery that is completely outside the small town cast. I think fans of the series will like this one but I’m curious how much. You tell me! ...more |
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Aug 10, 2015
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Kindle Edition
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| 0062289241
| 9780062289247
| 4.35
| 35,462
| Oct 28, 2014
| Oct 28, 2014
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liked it
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I love Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, even when it annoys me at times. Burn for Me is a new series by the duo and it’s very, very similar to the
I love Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, even when it annoys me at times. Burn for Me is a new series by the duo and it’s very, very similar to the Kate Daniels series. Very similar. As in you could almost replace Kate with Nevada and Curran with Rogan. However, I found Nevada to be more annoying than Kate and the story to be much more predictable and less entertaining. However to be fair I was on a roller coaster with this book – sometimes I liked it, sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes I really liked it, and sometimes I hated it entirely. Overall I think it’s just ok but I dislike how formulaic the series is when you consider the similarities to the existing KD series. Although a lot of fans may preferentially prefer such formatting and therefore adore the hell out of the series. YMMV. In this alternate reality world magic has been bred into society with the most powerful magic users being the richest, predictably. Nevada Baylor is a young scrappy but tough chick running her family’s investigative agency. She’s dirt poor due to her dead father’s illness and she’s supporting a whole host of people from teenagers to grandmothers. She’s overly prideful and has magic of her own that becomes a major talent later on. I don’t consider this to be a spoiler, by the way, since the book practically screams this is going to happen several times along the way. Anyway she hooks up with tall, silent, gorgeous, uber powerful, and ridiculously wealthy Rogan to solve a case. They have massive chemistry but since she’s convinced he’ll never love her, she refuses to be seduced by him – for now. It’s not that the premise is that bad, although I think my sarcasm has come through pretty easily, it’s just that it’s so predictable and well worn. There is no real new ground here. I get tired of reading the same thing, especially with women protagonists, who are sarcastic, tough, and capable but are given the usual hard luck background only to be the only woman the rich, unavailable bachelors could ever love. The women of course give the men a run for their money so there is a lot of foreplay before the big act. Again it’s not bad or anything and I’m sure tons of IA fans love this format and eat it up. I certainly love the Kate Daniels series, but I’m less enamored of this one because I feel as though I’ve read it already. Many times and I didn’t always like the delivery here. One of the problems I had is that Nevada is pretty annoying in my opinion. She is supporting two younger sisters, 15 and 16, and two younger cousins, 17 and 18. I might be wrong on the ages but they’re older teenagers anyway. She constantly refers to them as children. They’re not children. Yes I understand the need to allow them to grow up on their own but their father is dead, their mother is disabled, and in the case of the cousins – absent father and addict mother – so they’re not innocents. They’re far more mature than their age so stop with the whole children talk. They’re not children. It made Nevada sound like she was 45 instead of 25. Speaking of which, the love interest is 40. Now I don’t have an issue with age differences, especially in fictional romances, but I thought 15 years was a bit much. Additionally Nevada fails a lot, which I actually quite liked for most of the book. She’s imperfect, but towards the end of the story she is magically (literally and figuratively) solving all the worlds problems herself, and with Rogan of course. I got tired of these two being the sole heroes of an entire city of very rich, very powerful people. Especially when the villain, who I thought was funny and entertaining, kept having huge leaps in logic that would take Nevada and Rogan a long time to figure out themselves. I ultimately felt as if the plot was half finished and big gaps were just smoothed over with explosions and Nevada’s endless whining about Rogan’s good looks and her poor status instead of a well thought out progression of events. But even with all that – I didn’t really hate the book. I hated the ending so very much but most of the time I didn’t mind listening to the narration. The action is literally non-stop and Nevada is always verbally kicking some rich guy’s ass so the pages go by pretty quickly. As a somewhat mindless listen while walking the dog, I find it absorbing enough without being riveting. I always easily stopped listening. My biggest problem is that I feel it tried to recreate the Kate Daniels series without being as successful. In my been there, read that files – I’ve read better retreads. But I’m sure this will be a monster hit for the authors regardless. ...more |
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Jul 08, 2015
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ebook
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| 163216499X
| 9781632164995
| 3.76
| 175
| Feb 25, 2015
| Feb 25, 2015
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really liked it
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3.5 stars I surprisingly enjoyed this one. It’s a surprise only because the author is new to me and it’s from DSP, so I didn’t have a lot o 3.5 stars I surprisingly enjoyed this one. It’s a surprise only because the author is new to me and it’s from DSP, so I didn’t have a lot of faith or hope. I keep trying with DSP though and it’s books like this that keep me on that crack. This is a pleasant and well written little novella with some interesting characters. It kept my attention from the very beginning and my only compliant is that it ended too soon and felt too abrupt. I would have liked the couple to have more time together before their HEA, considering all the obstacles between them that were washed away with insta-love. This was a minor issue though as the story creates a cast of intriguing characters that feel fleshed out and does a good job with the main couple and even with their instant love I could see them together and why it worked. I’d recommend this one for BDSM fans that want a quick, enjoyable read. Tim owns an adult sex shop and occasionally works as demo submissive for two good friends of his. He was treated horribly by a Dom in the past and was pretty much run out of town in the fallout. So he’s understandably very wary about his playmates and trusts almost no one. When a new Dom comes into his shop asking for his help with a wax demo, Tim is annoyed and frustrated that his friends gave his information out. However, he soon learns why his friends think he and Jae may be a match made in heaven as the two men feel each other out over several evenings. The story is short and sweet but I never felt the lack of depth. It was only at the end when I suddenly realized how short the story was and that I wanted a bit more of the couple once they were truly together. Part of this is because the story does a really great job in fleshing out the main narrator, Tim. Tim is a fussy submissive but he’s not bratty or difficult at all. He’s just … fussy. He likes this neat and tidy and likes domestic kink the most, something he feels content and incredibly happy to perform. He’s clearly submissive but in his own way and it works really well with the story. I liked that there were a lot of details about the more practical side of BDSM - preparations, classes, aftercare – as well as the gossip and seedy side with unsafe and dangerous partners. Tim’s abusive Dom is a little too classically evil but I’m sure someone exactly like that actually exists so I let it go. Jae and Tim work well together and there’s an instant chemistry. Their sex scenes are more BDSM scenes involving wax play, I can’t remember if they actually have sex, but it’s clear the two are well suited. Given Tim’s destructive past and his logical overabundance of caution, it would have been nice to see the couple together and how they mesh in everyday circumstances. Instead there’s a scene of everyone happy at a bar, but it’s an abrupt ending, The scene doesn’t give a sense of how the two men really are on a daily basis and how Tim’s kinks play out. Maybe there’ll be a follow up story, which I’d be interested in reading. For a short and sweet BDSM story from a new to me author, I’m pretty happy. Damn DSP, this is why I can’t quit them! ...more |
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1
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Jul 01, 2015
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ebook
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| 9781632161123
| 3.66
| 427
| Sep 24, 2014
| Sep 24, 2014
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it was ok
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Surprising exactly no one that follows my reviews, I did not particularly like this book. I feel like I should have known better going into it but the
Surprising exactly no one that follows my reviews, I did not particularly like this book. I feel like I should have known better going into it but the author was not familiar and the subject matter actually sounded ok. Plus I find audiobooks more forgiving so I took a chance. Yes, yes bad me. Le sigh. In this case I can’t really tell if the narrator for the audiobook made things better or worse because I did not care for him. Beyond the narrator though, the plot is kind of silly and just not sexy or all that interesting. The author tried to be authentic in a way but also gave in to the easy out of fiction, which just doesn’t work. I think a book really needs to do one or the other and not try to use both. I didn’t hate it to the depths of my soul but I was really really glad it was finally over and had to force myself to finish towards the end. Acting Out is told from Eli’s POV as an ex-marine recently out of the service. His deadbeat parents have stolen all the money he saved in the military, and trashed his truck, so Eli is stuck in a dead end motel praying every day to find some work. Enter Royce, a middle aged gay man who runs a gay for pay porn site featuring military men. Eli isn’t gay, he’s very clear on this point, but needs the money. Once he realizes almost everyone else doing the porn site is also straight and just in it for the cash, he dives in all the way. Literally. An unexpected connection with another model throws Eli as does the appearance of a stalker. For the majority of the story, the plot focuses on Eli and his transition to gay for pay porn actor. The first third of the book spends a lot of time and detail describing and showing how desperate Eli becomes; how hard he tries to find a respectable job. When he finally gives in to do the gay porn though, he’s in all the way. He goes from being unsure and agreeing only to jerk off in front of the camera to anal sex, giving and receiving, the very next day. The time frame is so fast and abrupt that it really changes the entire pace of the book, given the pretty slow lead into the action. Now I didn’t mind the lengthy set up from Eli’s POV because he’s an interesting character and this is pretty much the only character development for the entire book. Once the sex starts, my interest almost immediately waned. Part of this is simply that showing the authenticity of what happens behind the scenes in a porn shoot exposes just how routine and unsexy such things really are. The sex scenes here sounded like stereo instructions to me and were quite boring. The characters keep repeating over and over that there is no connection, no intimacy, that it’s just a warm mouth and tight hole and nothing else matters; sex is just sex. I’m actually fine with emotionless sex if it’s at least hot but the story takes pains to talk about the preparation, the camera, the direction given and it really took any of the sizzle out of the scenes entirely. Instead I just wanted them over with and to get to something more interesting, which considering this part took up almost the rest of the book I was bored a lot. Furthermore the narrator here did not help, at all. He’s actually a fine narrator and has a pleasing voice but he’s not suited to this material. He sounds very middle aged and his voices for the different characters blended together too much. I kept imagining Eli and Hamish, mid twenties marines, as slightly overweight 40-somethings due to the voice. So I definitely wasn’t feeling any chemistry or spark in the sex scenes. Then the story decided to throw in the utterly ridiculous stalker issue. This was also a mistake since the book goes from attempting authenticity with the porn site to now absurdity with a stalker. The way the issue was handled from the beginning to the end, including 24/7 undercover police presence was completely over the top and so unbelievable it was borderline jump the shark. I think the premise would have been enough with Eli conflicted about his sexual orientation and eventually working it through with Hamish, especially adding in the addition of whether they could handle having sex with other men on camera once they were together. It could have been a much more interesting, cohesive book without the unnecessary and distractingly bad stalker element. The stalker element took a book I was mildly bored with and turned it into something I could almost not finish. I think the writing is basic and perfunctory without a flair for wording. That’s not bad per se but it doesn’t help save the book when the plot takes a bad turn unfortunately. Overall I wouldn’t recommend it but anyone following my reviews probably already knew that. ...more |
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Jun 19, 2015
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ebook
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| 0451465962
| 9780451465962
| 4.32
| 7,684
| Apr 07, 2015
| Apr 07, 2015
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it was ok
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I can tell I'm fatiguing on this series unfortunately. One of the big reasons I prefer male leads in urban fantasy books is that eventually the female
I can tell I'm fatiguing on this series unfortunately. One of the big reasons I prefer male leads in urban fantasy books is that eventually the females become parodies of heroines. Sadly that is happening here with Jane. She's always been snarky, kick ass and had issues with authority. Her powers have been growing over the course of the series, which isn't a bad thing and promotes character growth, but now she's damn near indestructible and nothing is more powerful than she is. Here the bad guy is supposed to be the epic vampire of all vampires, the maker of the entire undead race. No worries though! Jane can stop time, bend time, kill anyone, and survive the aftermath almost entirely without a scratch so it's still no contest. I like that Jane has a real relationship with Bruiser and has developed a family with Eli and Alex. That alone shows some nice character development and that Jane is not always the same one-note anti-authoritarian. However, now she can demand information and boss others around as if she's the sole bitch in charge. Whether they're high level vamps, security, or cops - Jane is always the snarky, rude one that can demand with no price. I started to really hate her and how she can get whatever she wants, whenever she wants without any real repercussions for her attitude and actions. Why? Honestly... why? It really makes no sense. I also never really bought into the hysteria the book was trying to build with the vampire on the lose. In a culture where mass murder and school shootings are pretty much common place, I couldn't see an entire city the size of New Orleans almost in riot mode over some dead humans in a bar. I was fine with the need to hunt him down and kill him, I just didn't buy the urgency and chaos the story was trying to sell. Otherwise it's a pretty typical and boilerplate Jane Yellowrock mystery down to the familiar quips and over the top, ridiculous ending. ...more |
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Jun 15, 2015
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 0804139024
| 9780804139021
| 4.40
| 719,292
| Sep 27, 2012
| Feb 11, 2014
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it was amazing
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The Martian came well recommended and I decided to give the audiobook a try. I’m glad I did, as it’s a highly, HIGHLY entertaining story I loved liste
The Martian came well recommended and I decided to give the audiobook a try. I’m glad I did, as it’s a highly, HIGHLY entertaining story I loved listening to and hated to finish. Even so it’s utterly ridiculous and basically a superhero story even while being technically outstanding, both in writing and realistic detail. The events depicted are logically and scientifically not only possible, but also probable. What makes the story utterly ridiculous is that all of the knowledge, capability, and ingenuity rely on one person. Not even MacGuiver would have figured out everything presented in this book. Though no doubt I totally aged myself with that reference. Anyway – the point is that the book is exceptionally entertaining while being a fabulously well-written science fiction novel. It’s just not likely to have happened that way. Does this matter? Probably not, ymmv. Six days into a 31 day mission on Mars, the space crew encounters a dangerous dust storm that forces them to abort their scientific trip and return home. In the following chaos, Mark Watney is injured and thought dead. Upon waking up, Mark realizes he’s stranded on Mars with no way home and no way to even tell anyone he’s alive. He also has no way to survive. Thus begins an 18-month daily struggle for survival that tests Mark’s intelligence, ingenuity, humanity, and will to live. Nothing is easy on Mars and with only an old collection of 70s TV shows, disco music and abandoned equipment to keep him company, it’ll be a miracle if he survives. Being a science fiction fan and a biologist myself helped me recognize that while the story plays on familiar tropes, the author has clearly done his research. There is so much detail and fact woven into the narration that sometimes the book can read like stereo instructions. The most entertaining and engaging instructions ever written but still, a litany of scientific principles, associated math, and the steps to achieve the desired result. I’ll admit once or twice I thought about fast forwarding to just get to the conclusion of the logic puzzle because while I always followed the intellectual thread and the science/math associated, sometimes I just didn’t care. However the author has done an exceptional job of interspersing humor amid the dry science to help readers stay engaged with the narration. The character of Mark Watney is a smart ass. He’s sarcastic, irreverent, funny, obsessed over small details, and rightly fearful when mistakes happen. He’s basically an everyman personality, which makes him relatable and likable. The flip side to this is he’s also a genius. He’s basically an entire space crew within one man that can fix anything, create anything, and think of anyone. He is supposed to have a master’s degree in botany and mechanical engineering but truly he’s a genius at every task from chemistry to navigation to computers to anything that might come up. The story throws frequent challenges at him that vary from small to catastrophic and likely would require several brilliant minds collaborating to resolve. Instead one lone man with a penchant for gallows humor manages to mostly outthink them all. This is where the over the top aspect of the story comes in. It’s not that it kills the entertainment value, but instead puts too much god-like ability and intelligence in one man. Everything that goes awry and all the solutions to fix said problems are realistic and absolutely true to life. It’s just beyond comprehension that one man, considered the sixth and least important part of the mission, would encompass all that knowledge and ability. That said if readers can get beyond that issue, if it’s even an issue, the story is simply pure fun. The truly excellent narrator, RC Bray, who did a fabulous job with the various voices, accents, and inflections, helps this. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version as it gives Mark’s voice real life and energy. Most narrators are good, I won’t listen to a book with a narrator I dislike, but Bray easily stands out. He’s that good. Additionally the writing is clever, clean, and interesting. The large cast of secondary characters is less well developed and often flat. They’re vital to the story and their perspectives are essential but I always preferred to stay in Mark’s recordings. Often these characters would impart important plot points and information but they never had the same impact as Mark’s voice and point of view. It’d probably be impossible to give them the depth they needed so I didn’t count this against the book but I could tell my attention usually perked up when the story returned to Mark. Overall this is an easy book to recommend. I loved listening to it and it’s one of those rare books that get better as it goes along. By the end, I could predict a lot of the actions and reactions but I found myself riveted to the story anyway. There are many points I laughed out loud on the street because it was that funny. I’d again recommend the audiobook but either way read this book. It’s easily one of my favorites of the year and I’ll be listening to it again and again. ...more |
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Jun 04, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 0062224107
| 9780062224101
| 3.59
| 26,320
| Mar 10, 2015
| Mar 10, 2015
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did not like it
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**spoiler alert** This definitely goes into the category of “I suffered so you don’t have to” books. I usually like Lauren Oliver’s books but not alwa
**spoiler alert** This definitely goes into the category of “I suffered so you don’t have to” books. I usually like Lauren Oliver’s books but not always. I think Rooms was boring and pointless, although I really liked Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy. Unfortunately Vanishing Girls is closer to Rooms in the pointless and ridiculously loquacious writing than it was to the books I actually like of Oliver’s. I’m frustrated by the change in her writing to awkward and unpleasing analogies and the over use of cliché plot points that other books have done better and more successfully. I can’t say I loathed Vanishing Girls but I did hate on it pretty hard. I wanted to quit so many times but I also wanted to see if I was right about everything (sadly I was. STOP BEING PREDICTABLE!). Even die-hard fans should avoid this one. Ok – Vanishing Girls is mostly about an eighteen-year-old girl named Nicole/Nick and her trouble relationship to younger sister Dara. The book is split into before the car accident and after. The narration jumps between Nick’s point of view and Dara’s, which includes selections from Dara’s journal. It’s a pretty typical story about sisters that are very close in age and vacillate between love and hate as they fight over boys, clothes, parents, and who’s to blame for leaving the toothpaste cap off. I got about 20% of the way through before I realized I could predict everything going on in the book, and not in a good way. The entire premise relies on a very well known cliché – one of the protagonists is dead but the reader isn’t supposed to figure that out. Except the story painted a neon sign with this information extremely early on. I know it was to begin laying clues but it was obvious and unsuccessful. I could tell that “Dara” was really Nick having a psychological breakdown and pretending to be her sister. It was really obvious and thus cringe inducing, as Nick would pretend to be Dara then while she was “Nick” have no knowledge of what happened while she was Dara. And of course no one else ever noticed her doing this. It was clunky, awkward, and painful to read. Not just due to the obvious nature of the so-called twist, but because the reader is supposed to continue to be invested in the whole “why is Dara mad at me, I want to make it better” storyline. Since Dara is dead, I couldn’t care about Nick’s frantic search to find her – check out the graveyard. The story tries REALLY HARD to give clues about Dara being dead but the clues are so obvious it’s simply unsuccessful. People in Nick’s life from her parents to Parker would have picked up on Nick’s ridiculous behavior and confronted her. The conversations Nick has where she alludes to Dara but everyone else knows she’s dead don’t make sense. Her parents would have picked up on the obvious subtext that Nick thinks Dara is alive. Also in four months since the accident that Nick can’t remember, no one literally no one has mentioned Dara’s death or funeral or how they’re so sorry for her loss? Right. The premise just doesn’t work here at all. It’s obvious in a bad way and the author can’t really pull it off. Then there is the dynamic between the sisters. I read some reviews where they complained real sisters don’t act the way Dara and Nick did but I would disagree. The two sisters are caricatures, sure, but their emotions are very authentic. The jealousy, bitterness, and push/pull dynamic are very reminiscent of my own relationship growing up with my sister. I could definitely identify with some, not all, of the emotions and situations that were described and I was 100% sure my sister would as well. Not all sisterly relationships are wonderful. They’re complicated because it’s a relationship forced on you and so you fight for something and someone that you’d probably want nothing to do with otherwise. I could sympathize with both sisters and their struggle, while knowing they are exaggerations for effect. Neither character is really good or bad, they’re just immature nor quite sure who they are and what their place is in life. While I could identify and sympathize with the sisters and their twisted dynamic, it wasn’t enjoyable to read. I disliked almost every single character of the book. Something that wasn’t helped with the writing. Oliver has taken to adding odd and unpleasant analogies that serve to take you out of the story. It should instead give a visceral understanding of the emotion described but it seemed like Oliver would throw in as many similes and analogies as she could just because she could. They often didn’t fit the emotion or they would be awkward and actually detract from what they were describing. I found the writing to be oddly clunky and unlikable. In the end there was little I liked about the book. I actively started hating it when I realized the big “twist” was actually Dara was dead which anyone with a functioning brain cell would have figured out almost immediately. So it kills any tension or purpose to the story. Why should the reader continue to wonder where Dara is? Why she and her sister never talk or actually communicate and call each other out in a verbal way? Any of the supposed questions of the book are answered early on – Dara is dead. End of story. The actual end is just a way to wrap up an irrelevant side story line to give the book a title. I was really sorry I read this. ...more |
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1
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May 2015
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May 05, 2015
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May 01, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1619220598
| 9781619220591
| 3.97
| 1,997
| Mar 25, 2014
| Mar 25, 2014
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liked it
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Interesting sequel that sets up a good series but the mystery is complicated and not well developed. The characters carry the story with their charm s
Interesting sequel that sets up a good series but the mystery is complicated and not well developed. The characters carry the story with their charm so if their near constant manly bickering isn’t your thing, the book may not be as engaging. It’s well written with Merrow’s classic British taste and slang but it lacks a good deal of the humor I usually associate with JLM. I found the couple lackluster and more like friends with benefits than a madly in love relationship. What got me through the story the most were Merrow’s writing, British background, and narrator. I liked Tom but I just didn’t feel his romance with Phil. I’m still going to continue with the series and maybe Relief Valve is just the typical middle book slump. It’s been a few months since Phil and Tom started seeing each other and now Tom’s family come barreling into the picture. An old acquaintance has left Tom some kind of inheritance and that puts him in touch with his semi-estranged sister Cherry, who happens to be a lawyer. Upon reconnecting Cherry invites Tom and Phil to her engagement party and they witness Cherry being poisoned. The hunt is then on to find out who poisoned Cherry, if she was even the intended victim and why. Once again a large cast of possible suspects is tossed about and Tom does the lion share of investigating between plumbing jobs. This time the mystery felt convoluted and weak. There’s kind of a connection between this inheritance from an old acquaintance that Tom had known as a child and the mystery of Cherry’s poisoning but not really. It’s just another thread thrown into the story to develop Tom’s background and it’s uninteresting and overly complicated. It relies on Tom’s psychic talent of finding things but I could feel my attention waning as soon as the subject turned to that plot point. In fact I even fell asleep during a revealing moment of the book that centered on that concept. I just couldn’t connect or engage with the story for the most part. The mystery of who poisons Cherry is interesting enough but with so many suspects I just checked out and didn’t really care. The reasoning felt insubstantial and made up; not that it couldn’t have happened, just that it seemed silly when finally revealed. Likewise I struggled with the romance between Tom and Phil. For the most part I found Tom a charming first person narrator. He usually carried my attention and his observations and daily life tasks worked to keep me engaged. Unfortunately he has this very manly relationship with Phil filled with nearly constant innuendo quips and light bickering. Once in a while this would have added humor and a lighthearted touch to the story, but since it seemed to happen during every single dialogue exchange I soon grew tired of it. I wanted them to just have a real conversation without the back and forth smart-ass name calling and one-upmanship. I fatigued on the humor as it just felt like the story was trying too hard. Also the couple just seemed like friends that occasionally slept together rather than a devoted, deeply in love couple. It’s only been a few months so I put it down to that but when they exchange awkward “I love yous” I didn’t believe that scene for a second. On the upside I liked the author’s writing and sense of place. There’s no end to the details offered about the setting and secondary characters. They’re all unique and thankfully didn’t blend together despite the overwhelming number of them. Tom is a charming main character but no one seems to respect him very much. Most people dismissed him and his ideas easily and even Phil only gives him a passing nod sometimes. I found myself frustrated on his behalf and wanting better treatment for him. Unfortunately all together I didn’t really enjoy this book in the series nearly as much as the first book but I liked it ok. It has a lot to recommend it and I have no doubt other readers may enjoy it more. ...more |
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Apr 29, 2015
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| 1623005167
| 9781623005160
| 3.81
| 238
| Sep 16, 2014
| Sep 16, 2014
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really liked it
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I was kind of surprised by this book. I liked the previous books in the series but it hasn’t lived up to the greatness that is the Heaven Sent series.
I was kind of surprised by this book. I liked the previous books in the series but it hasn’t lived up to the greatness that is the Heaven Sent series. I was hoping for a mildly bland book to round out the Indigo Knights without anything really objectionable. I definitely got that with Noble but I also found the book more entertaining and interesting than the two previous books. It was an easy couple to end on with no real drama and only a half hearted attempt to throw some tension in so the story didn’t end halfway through. Ultimately though I liked the story and couple and was glad to have the series end on a relatively high note. I actually read this entire story extremely quickly and found it engaging enough to want to finish fast. That rarely happens anymore. For fans of the series and Mykles, they won’t want to miss this one but it’s probably not the best one to start out with. Although it can be read as a stand alone, tons of names are thrown around from the previous books that will be confusing unless readers have a flow chart about each character, their band position, and relationship. Noble is the last of the Indigo Knights (and Heaven Sent) to get into a committed relationship. He’s pretty happy with his status and uses his extreme socializing to engage in casual sex. He’s into one night stands but nothing permanent. He’s out and proud and has no desire to hide that at all. So of course he has to fall for the one man that can’t be open about their relationship. Donny Foxley is the next new thing in acting, having just signed on to do a super popular sci-fi trilogy. He also has a morality clause in his contract, which prevents him from coming out as gay. That doesn’t stop him from exploring the chemistry between him and Noble. The two men can’t keep their hands off each other and both fall in love pretty quick. Except Noble refuses to be anyone’s secret and they both know that Foxy can’t come out while he’s under contract. The story is told from Noble’s POV and it’s pretty entertaining. Noble is loud, proud, and happily casual about sex. He flits from man to man, always in a crowd and happiest when he’s out and with people. He’s not a loner and prefers to always be surrounded by people. So he knows his feelings for Foxy are serious when he realizes he doesn’t mind being alone if he’s alone with Foxy. Noble is full of sweet vulnerabilities as he struggles from the very beginning against his feelings. It’s clear he falls for Foxy from the very first kiss but he definitely fights that out of fear for a while. It’s sweet and soft to watch the two fall in love, mingled with a lot of hot sex scenes. There are probably a few too many sex scenes but I honestly wasn’t complaining at all. I found the two men lovely together and their romance felt genuine from the start. I could see why they fell in love and felt they made a great couple together. The story does throw the whole closeted issue up again and again as the main reason the two aren’t just happy ever after from the first night. It allows the story to continue and some mild tension to exist but I found it kind of annoying if anything. It clearly wasn’t a big deal and Noble’s few freakouts over it made me question his maturity more than anything. The question was never if Foxy was going to come out, it was always when. So I couldn’t really buy into the big drama that Noble found it relationship ending. Then the story made a mention of how every single couple from both HS and IK had broken up then gotten back together and it reminded me how formulaic this whole plot was unfortunately. I almost started skimming the book then. Ultimately I liked this final book better than the previous two because it was easy, light, and very entertaining. The drama was low and hardly there, which definitely helped. The couple also was one of the better ones. They felt honest and real and I wanted them to go off into the sunset together. As a final chapter to the IK, this works really well. While I may not have loved the entire series but it ended on a good note. It still beats most of the rocker books out there. ...more |
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Apr 17, 2015
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| 9781610408349
| 3.77
| 13
| Nov 18, 2014
| Nov 19, 2014
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it was ok
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I love a good apocalypse story and zombies can add a great humorous element. I haven’t read any other books in this series but I really struggled with
I love a good apocalypse story and zombies can add a great humorous element. I haven’t read any other books in this series but I really struggled with this one. Some of time the story would be entertaining and pages would fly by but then I’d get annoyed by the same issues and I’d not read for several days. It’s not a bad book, it’s just too coincidental and repetitive. I read somewhere a coincidence that lands the characters in a problem is good but a coincidence that gets them out of the problem is lazy. I feel as if that quote typifies exactly what went wrong with ZA: And the Dead Shall Rise, there are so many lazy coincidences that keep life extremely easy for the main characters. Guy’s day job is being a trainer at a local gym while he gets ready for his third appearance at the Olympics. He’s a crack shot and biathlon athlete in both the summer and winter games when the zombie apocalypse (always called the ZA) comes to his hometown of Toronto. In the following chaos he learns his parents are dead or zombies and he knows he has to leave town. On a trip to the local sporting goods store he encounters the manager, Tracey, and the two decide to team up together. Tracey has been planning for the ZA for years and has all the knowledge he needs to survive. With Guy’s amazing shooting skill, the two are a formidable team. Their decision is helped by the fact they both have been wanting to ask the other out for months and can’t keep their hands to themselves when they figure this out. Together they head out to find a safe place to survive and perhaps thrive. The book has all the basics of an involved and lengthy story. There’s the immediate aftermath of the ZA, the two men meeting then running away together (literally), finding other survivors, a plan for the future and then the first steps towards building a new kind of life and community while Guy and Tracey fall in love. Unfortunately the basics are simply that – steps taken to get to the next plot point with so many coincidences thrown in to make it easy on everyone. First Tracey has been planning for the apocalypse for years, which isn’t that unusual or abnormal but his level of preparation is ridiculous. Honestly, truly ridiculous. He has lists of all the houses, boats, restaurants including floor plans they could ever possibly need and the amount of upkeep that must be done to ensure that list was always current was mind boggling. Frankly anytime the characters needed something, Tracey or Guy would just happen to have that knowledge and/or be an expert at it. Some useful skills would be nice but literally there is nothing these two can’t do or accomplish with ease. Which leaves them to have tons of kinky sex in the meantime. Now I’ve no problem with characters getting it on during an apocalypse of any kind. However I found it a bit hard to believe that these two would indulge in their serious kinks immediately while still on the run from zombies. They have lengthy conversations about what gets each other off with zombies rattling at the doors. I didn’t get the impression this was for comedic effect either. In addition to the rampant and pretty kinky sex life they indulge in immediately and often, the two have a bizarre relationship. They seem to require the same steps as a relationship prior to the collapse of civilization down to the conversation about when to stop using condoms. Because using condoms between men who don’t fear disease is a logical decision during the end of life as they know it… why? They have to declare their love for each other before they’ll stop using condoms and again I was kind of stumped at this progression. Sure it’d be nice to spend the rest of a fucked up life with someone you love but come on…this is nearly “any port in a storm” crisis. There are literally no other options for these two so I think the dithering about whether they love each other and want to stay together just doesn’t work in the immediate aftermath of a worldwide apocalypse. Additionally I found Guy’s dialogue affected and stale. The inclusion of random French words didn’t give the speech a French feel but rather keeps the words stilted and awkward. It felt like a put on and kept reminding me I was reading a book that wanted to have a certain feel but never really achieved it. I found the pages turned fast due to the formatting so sometimes that alone would keep my momentum going to read more and be done with the book. I liked the characters decently enough I just got frustrated with the overly easy solutions and unnecessary relationship tangents. Sometimes the scenes would really hit good notes such as the sex/shooting scene on the boat between Tracey and Guy with their bet. That was a hot and entertaining scene as was the addition of cop and Tracey’s best friends. Overall the book was ok but I found myself wishing it was over before I hit the halfway point. Too many coincidences and easy outs combined with a truly odd relationship progression, given the situation, and this didn’t really work for me at all. I’m debating reading Konrad and Jase’s story as I liked them as characters better but no doubt they’ll have amazing and perfect survival skills too. ...more |
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Apr 13, 2015
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ebook
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| 0399169520
| 9780399169526
| 3.59
| 15,542
| Feb 10, 2015
| Feb 10, 2015
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liked it
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Ultimately a very interesting book. I didn't like the narrator at all unfortunately and found that his repeated justifications for his actions (actual
Ultimately a very interesting book. I didn't like the narrator at all unfortunately and found that his repeated justifications for his actions (actually the author is trying to justify a teen's inexcusable actions) really grating. True the narrator/teenager is not the main culprit, but he was overly obsessive and stalking another teenager. You can only claim youthful ignorance so long but a 15/16 y/o knows spying on someone is wrong. I really questioned the overly self indulgent behavior the teen often displayed but I do remember that teens are self absorbed and self centered. They always assume the world revolves around them, their perceptions, and their realities. Because of this the narrator's actions often could be understood. Not necessarily justified or accepted but understood through the prism of teen angst and self delusion. I'm not really sure what the point of the story was though honestly. It seems a wandering narrative about a seemingly idyllic childhood place that had a very real and scary underbelly beneath the facade. And how most people were aware of the problems and choose to ignore them and go on with their own lives and problems, the narrator included. Not shocking or surprising but the long mental tangents and weird tourist-like explanations of Baton Rouge detracted from the story. Not sure what I think about the book and it's nowhere near a favorite or page turner, but it certainly has me thinking about it long after I finished. ...more |
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Apr 13, 2015
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Apr 17, 2015
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Apr 13, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1623806100
| 9781623806101
| 3.73
| 2,425
| Apr 19, 2012
| Apr 19, 2013
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it was ok
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I was looking for a BDSM centric book and this one was on a list somewhere so I gave it a shot. Nebulous lists with no added information are never a g
I was looking for a BDSM centric book and this one was on a list somewhere so I gave it a shot. Nebulous lists with no added information are never a good place for solid recommendations but that doesn’t stop anyone so why should it stop me. Pup did indeed scratch that bdsm itch I had for a book but it left me vaguely irritated and annoyed with the book as well. I think the concept is ok but the execution just couldn’t pull it off. Instead it can only succeed if a reader wants fantasy-based bdsm that has no resemblance to reality or responsible, healthy, mature BDSM relationships. As soon as I have to start forgiving a book with the tired cliché of “it’s only fiction” then it’s lost me as a reader. Instead a book should engage me to the point that I don’t need to make excuses for poor choices. Here the plot is actually a pretty familiar one with a hyper, jittery, cocky sub that can’t seem to focus or have a long-term relationship. In this case Micah is waiting for Tackett, the well-respected dom having a mid-life crisis about his age. Tackett decides that taking on a sub half his age will be just the thing to give his life some purpose and focus. Sadly focus is the exactly the thing that Micah has the most trouble with unfortunately. He has ADHD (or ADD, yanno the book is vague) and wants a strong dominant that can cure his attention deficit problem with some badass domination. Match made in heaven. Ok let’s get the bad out of the way as there’s more bad than I would have liked. First the story is totally unrealistic and borderline irresponsible with the way the ADHD is portrayed. Tackett is repeatedly disappointed and frustrated with Micah’s lack of focus and usually punishes him for the failing; as if Micah’s problem is simply because he doesn’t want to focus or isn’t properly motivated. That’s like saying a depressed person will be happy if only they want it enough. Or a person with Parkinson’s can stop shaking if they try really hard. It’s ridiculous and somewhat insulting to make that connection. The story would have been much better served simply saying that Micah is hyperactive without adding the actual diagnosis. ADD is not something that can be cured with two weeks of intense domination. Sure rituals, rules and reminders can help someone but punishing and disciplining him for the symptoms of ADD is simply cruel. Which is my second problem with the story. Tackett sets Micah up to fail several times and then actively punishes him for his failure. The art fair scene where Micah’s ADD is in total overdrive, something even Tackett internally acknowledges, yet Micah is still severely punished for his inability to focus. Tackett states that he expected Micah to fail and in fact Micah had done better than he expected but he still had to pretend to be mad and punish Micah severely because it was for Micah’s own good. Um, excuse me? That’s nearly abuse when it’s related to a neurological condition that Micah is suffering. Great domination and care taking there. So clearly this story doesn’t resemble a healthy, mature, or responsible BDSM relationship in any way despite all the contracts, safe words, and expensive clubs mentioned. Likewise the story goes to great lengths to push Micah into trusting Tackett completely within two weeks. Because everyone can give over their entire mind, body, and soul with no reservations or hesitations in just two weeks. Just like any sub that truly wants submission should be able to blow through two hard limits in the same amount of time just because the dom says so. Hopefully you’re getting the point that this book is pure fantasy and nothing more. So on the fantasy scale…eh it’s ok. The sex scenes are hot and pretty BDSMy and the characters do seem to really love each other. Tackett’s not an evil person or even a bad person, he’s simply utterly clueless what ADD really means. All the punishment in the world won’t make Micah focus 100% and it’s not because he isn’t serious about being Tackett’s sub. I think the story made a grave error in trying to push domination as a cure to ADD and furthermore trying to suggest it can happen within a mere two weeks between near strangers. Instant love is one thing but instant complete trust? I actually will never buy that. I don’t think the book is horribly written and it has some humor, warmth and real affection between the characters in between hot sex scenes. It’s just pure fantasy and I don’t want to make excuses for books. If it’s fantasy, at least make it one I can believe and escape into please. ...more |
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Apr 06, 2015
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| B0011UCPLU
| 4.12
| 81,134
| Jul 29, 2008
| Jul 29, 2008
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it was amazing
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I am a big fan of Patricia Briggs and anything she writes. This spin-off of the Mercy Thompson series is very strong. Charles and Anna are great toget
I am a big fan of Patricia Briggs and anything she writes. This spin-off of the Mercy Thompson series is very strong. Charles and Anna are great together and I have to say this rivals my love of MT. It's so well written and interesting that I've re-read it several times since. Also the author always takes the time to develop the secondary characters and nuanced relationships within the group. Charles and Anna may be one of my favorite paranormal couples but they easily stand on their own as great characters too. Highly, highly recommended.
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Apr 02, 2015
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Kindle Edition
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| 1623800293
| 9781623800291
| 4.22
| 2,692
| Oct 14, 2012
| Oct 15, 2012
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really liked it
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Although I struggled with T&D on the re-read (or re-listen on audiobook?), I really liked Tigerland. I had to get over a few niggles but I actuall
Although I struggled with T&D on the re-read (or re-listen on audiobook?), I really liked Tigerland. I had to get over a few niggles but I actually liked it more than T&D this time around. This definitely was helped by the change in narrator. This time around the narrator was Aussie and helped add that quintessential flavor to the story. Plus he got Simon’s melodramatic voice so spot on. There were even tiny quavers and hiccups. I can’t really praise this narrator enough, he did a fantastic job with Tigerland. That said, I also felt as if I could envision Simon and Declan’s relationship much better. I saw more of their banter and how they reacted to each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I could finally appreciate what Declan saw in Simon that was worth putting up with his very difficult and overwrought personality. It’s now been three years since Declan’s was outed in the press and although he played in the AFL for a few more years, his injury reappeared and he retired to work as a commentator. Simon moved on from the Triple F to produce several television shows for a community tv station. They’ve settled happily into Declan’s plush apartment near the Docklands with friends Fran, Rodger, Abe, and Lisa. Lisa and Abe have broken up for reasons unknown but are working on their relationship while Fran and Rodger are struggling with infertility. Declan and Simon seem the only couple to have it easy when Declan’s old boyfriend and ex-AFL player Greg Heyward decides to come out and tell salacious details about his past relationship with Declan. For starters I really enjoyed this book because it feels a bit like a slice of life book. It shows the various relationships between the friends and couples for quite a while before getting to the drama of Heyward and the renewed media circus. I finally could get a solid grasp on Simon and Declan’s relationship and how they worked really well together. Their different strengths actually complimented each other but they also have communication issues. They’re not a perfect couple and even though they actively work on talking and listening to each other, they’re prone to keeping secrets as a way to not hurt or stress each other out. I liked that this was a realistic depiction of a couple that loves each other but knowingly makes mistakes like people do. My only issue came with the drama with Heyward. Yes he’s Declan’s ex-boyfriend and it can’t be fun to have that splashed about so publically but Simon started to seriously hyperventilate and make him out to be an evil mastermind way too early. I kept wondering why Simon was having a full on homicidal meltdown over an ex relationship that took place 6 years ago. The melodrama was so completely over the top I actually shouted at the audiobook. I don’t think Simon heard but the point was there. He freaked out when there was no real reason to and then when Heyward was actually saying negative things and lying about Simon, Simon seemed to have to acceptance of it. Kind of a backwards reaction in my opinion and it made the book initially feel overwrought. Additionally sometimes the language, especially during Simon’s internal rantings/monologues, would try too hard. That said I found the story incredibly engaging and a real joy to listen to. The inclusion of drama from the supporting cast in a realistic way made the story more relatable and entertaining. I could appreciate the characters as they matured and actually progressed, which made me appreciate and like them all the more. Kennedy’s pop culture references and humor is on full display and I lost track of the times I laughed out loud. I was actually running once and had to stop because Simon said something so incredibly funny. This is an easy re-read I think, even if I know I’ll yell at Simon to chill out a time or two. But at least there’s a good ending for all involved and I think the sequel easily lives up to the first book. ...more |
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Mar 31, 2015
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May 2015
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Mar 31, 2015
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| 148238745X
| 9781482387452
| 3.93
| 3,042
| Jan 22, 2013
| Jan 23, 2013
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liked it
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Ok – Jared is not the ass everyone seems to think he is. I picked this one up randomly on audiobook and found it very readable, or listenable (?) Ok – Jared is not the ass everyone seems to think he is. I picked this one up randomly on audiobook and found it very readable, or listenable (?). The story is decent with some expected turns and I liked seeing young adults act in immature but age appropriate ways. I thought the narrator, Andrew Eiden, was really incredible. He managed to capture Connor’s painful shyness very well with just the right breaks in his voice and hesitation. He also gave the other characters enough differentiation in the voices and inflection that I never got confused between dialogue and internal musings, which can happen with a lot of audiobooks. Mostly I was pleasantly surprised with this one and although it’s not necessarily a story I’d want to read/listen to again, I’m glad I read it. Connor is a violinist and freshman at college. He’s painfully, almost pathologically shy and introverted so he has serious trouble making friends. He prefers to hide in the safety of his room or the back areas of the library so he’s taken aback when his favorite instructor asks him to tutor some of the football players in an introductory anthropology course. Not wanting to get on the bad side of the teacher, Connor agrees and soon meets Jared. Jared is a handsome, popular, outgoing, and confident fourth string football player and an all around nice guy. He and Connor hit it off and soon they’re hooking up in the safety of Connor’s room. Unfortunately Jared isn’t out and he doesn’t know if he ever will be – given his life and how he grew up. This initially is fine with Connor until Connor begins to find his own confidence and realizes he wants more than a secret relationship. I read several reviews of this book before I listened to it and was expecting Jared to be a total ass, since almost everyone commented on that. However as typical with my reading, I didn’t think that way at all. I found Jared to be completely sympathetic and engaging. He’s 18, lost his father, and trying to be the man he imagined his father would have wanted. Of course he doesn’t think he can be openly gay and I didn’t doubt his real fear and need to be secretative. To me Jared’s actions made total sense given his age and experience. While many reviewers gave Connor the benefit of the doubt about maturing and growing up, few allowed the same for Jared. To me Jared did the best he could – he even had the rare self awareness to recognize that he was making poor decisions/actions and knew he wasn’t being fair to Connor. I thought that breakup, while of course heartbreaking to Connor, was actually pretty mature on Jared’s end considering his acknowledged fear and conflicted emotions. He cared enough to know that he was treating Connor poorly – what teen has the self-awareness of that, seriously. Not to mention Connor’s wild run to Jared’s dorm made me cringe as it was such the wrong choice to make and kind of a dick move really. Connor was thinking emotionally and selfishly, which is understandable but I also understood Jared’s freakout about it. They were both simply too immature to handle their emotions and relationship so they break up – wow – typical teen relationship. No one is the bad guy. Furthermore that breakup really initiated Connor’s own growth and maturity. At first his painful shyness was both endearing and annoying. The unending well of insecurity and self hatred was simply hard to read about. He truly thought so little of himself that it was easy to see why he built Jared up unfairly. He expected Jared to be perfect and have all the answers but it was also gratifying to see that Connor eventually matures and becomes his own source of confidence. He recognizes that Jared is just trying to do the best he can as well, making mistakes along the way like Connor did. I felt more for Jared when he was forcibly outed because it was definitely worse than any heartbreak Connor went through. But both young men grew from the experience, changed, and ultimately were mature enough to have a real relationship the second time around. I ended up liking both characters equally and found they had a much more realistic relationship and one that I could see flourishing and even lasting. As opposed to what they had initially, which I knew couldn’t go on like that. On the flip side I found all of the tears in the last third way too much. I understand that Jared’s outing was an emotional and traumatic event no doubt but there were so. many. tears. Jared, and Connor, seemed to cry constantly and I just wanted them to stop. Some of their dialogue edged into cheesy and overly sappy and I found the stuttering comments of Jared’s roommate Ben much more realistic. I liked that the story tried to show complexity with the various side characters and even the “bad” ones such as Veronica and her mom weren’t over the top evil. They had reasons to act the way they did and even if I didn’t like the characters, I appreciated their authenticity without being evil. I liked this one, more than I expected, but also because I kept waiting for Jared to be a horrible guy and it never happened. I’d be curious to read any sequels about these two. ...more |
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Mar 31, 2015
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Paperback
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| 0385529988
| 9780385529983
| 4.11
| 14,352
| Jan 27, 2015
| Jan 27, 2015
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it was amazing
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Truly exceptional book. It took a bit to get into it with a slow start, so much background, but Leovy's strong writing and narrative voice are wonderf
Truly exceptional book. It took a bit to get into it with a slow start, so much background, but Leovy's strong writing and narrative voice are wonderful. Once the story takes off it's engaging and phenominal and I truly didn't want to put it down for even a second. Incredible amounts of information deftly woven into the narrative to educate without the staid, boring feel of dry statistics and rote memorization. I loved this book and will read it many times.
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Mar 23, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 3.58
| 699
| Jun 04, 2013
| Jun 04, 2013
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it was ok
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This is a free follow-up to His Client and it includes a roleplaying sex scene – doctor and patient hehe – and some nice progression in the main coupl
This is a free follow-up to His Client and it includes a roleplaying sex scene – doctor and patient hehe – and some nice progression in the main couple’s romantic relationship. It’s as well written as any of March’s books and the fact that it’s free is a surprising but nice bonus. It shows the couple very happy and well equipped to have a happy ending while communicating about their various needs. It’s one of the few follow ups that makes me feel as though the couple really could live HEA.
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Mar 19, 2015
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| 9781942356134
| 3.77
| 1,464
| Jan 10, 2011
| Mar 17, 2015
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liked it
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Ava March’s regency mm books are always easy and enjoyable to read. His Client takes a familiar and classic framework and gives it a happy ending with
Ava March’s regency mm books are always easy and enjoyable to read. His Client takes a familiar and classic framework and gives it a happy ending with a small taste of kink along the way. Jasper is a hooker in love with his client, Nate. Nate visits Jasper as a way to have sex but also lament his long standing infatuation with his straight best friend. When said best friend gets married Jasper is beyond exasperated by Nate’s despondency. Despite efforts to get Nate to see that Jasper is in love with him, Nate refuses to see the truth. Thus Jasper leaves the whoring life, forcing Nate to follow and see the truth. The story is fun, quick, and enjoyable. It’s clear Nate and Jasper are well suited with a small bit of kink and role playing thrown in for some extra spice. It’s not much and I doubt anyone will be bothered by the inclusion since the main thrust of the story is all about the two men’s inability to recognize each other’s feelings. They of course work things out well in the end with a satisfying resolution. For such a fast read this novella was delightful and another solid March book. Easily recommended for both fans of the author and those new to her work. ...more |
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Mar 19, 2015
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| 9781623005870
| 4.28
| 1,429
| Sep 23, 2014
| Sep 23, 2014
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liked it
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Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities returns to the alien world of Ondry and human Liam as they have settled into their relationship. The seco
Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities returns to the alien world of Ondry and human Liam as they have settled into their relationship. The second book in the series by Lyn Gala entertains just as much as the previous book, but in a different way. The first book was more about personal relationships and relied on Ondry and Liam, two different species, figuring out their wants and needs without common language and mannerisms. Now the two are together and doing well but face a threat from a human officer with a hidden agenda. The story has some action to it and Liam comes into his own as a trader and partner to Ondry, but I couldn’t help noticing the overwhelming philosophical statements about the illogical and irrational behavior of humans. On the one hand this is a continuing story about the main couple and their place on Ondry’s world. They face an external threat in the form of a human, Diallo, and her blundering, missteps. The story is left with something of a cliffhanger and no doubt there will be a third book in the series. I’m looking forward to reading it but my enjoyment dimmed somewhat with this book and I think will decrease even more with the third book. However Gala is an exceptional author and I like the multifaceted plots she offers. While I really loved reading about the differences in the cultures and agreed with the author and Rownt species about the flaws in humanity, this story reminded me so much of previous science fiction series. For example I couldn’t help thinking of this like the Ender’s Game series where the first book introduces the characters so you are connected to them and care about them while the second book goes into detail about why humanity is horrible and alternate alien species aren’t actually so bad. It’s a different kind of appeal and book, one equally good. While, I can appreciate these viewpoints and agree with them wholeheartedly, sometimes my enjoyment dims when faced with yet another argument that yeah – humanity sucks. I know it and I kind of want to get away from that in fiction. It’s not a criticism of this particular book, or sci-fi genre in general, just more of an explanation of my personal bias. Here humanity and all it’s problems are offered against a simplistic, much more rational alien species. The Rownt culture is presented as almost a completely opposite alternative where logic dictates behavior. Honesty is more of a sliding scale than absolute and it’s used in both social and financial ways. Liam represents and probably resonates with most readers too as someone that has slowly come around to enjoying and furthermore embracing Rownt culture. His safety and happiness are threatened by the new human but Liam realizes that the differences between the two species will likely lead to unavoidable conflict and he feels he has to try to help. It has a ring of authenticity and urgency that will no doubt be carried into the next book. It’s an interesting series and I liked the main couple quite a bit. Their relationship is simple, yet complicated and while there is gay sex (gasp!), of a kind, this story is solidly within the science fiction genre, which I love. I’ll happily read more of the excellent writing, complex characters, and nuanced philosophy offered but I do hope the next book dials back on culture bias just a bit. I know it’s there, I know it’s true and I just don’t want to be depressed that I can’t join the Rownt. Highly recommended series for sci-fi fans. I’m curious if this will resonate as well with other readers. ...more |
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Mar 17, 2015
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| 1619212587
| 9781619212589
| 3.90
| 4,114
| Sep 18, 2012
| Sep 18, 2012
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really liked it
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Not surprising I’m late to the party in reading this series by JL Merrow but I’m here now! I liked this opener and found it enjoyable to read with ent
Not surprising I’m late to the party in reading this series by JL Merrow but I’m here now! I liked this opener and found it enjoyable to read with entertaining characters and a decent whodunit. My only issues were that I never got a good feel for the character of Phil and the villain confesses in a nonsensical scene at the end. Neither issue bothered me enough to dislike the book and I think most readers won’t be bothered either. Merrow is a good writer with subtle humor and good pacing making her stories a joy to read with distinct British flair. Easy to recommend. Tom Paretski is a plumber with a knack for finding hidden things. His “gift” can be useful or it can be a curse. It’s helpful in finding blocked pipes or leaks but a curse when it comes to helping police find dead bodies. He’s called in to find the body of a missing girl and ends up delving deeper into the investigation than ever before. The family has hired a private detective, Phil Morrison, who is Tom’s high school bully and responsible for a horrible accident Tom had as a teen. Despite Tom and Phil’s past they work together to find the real culprit of poor Melanie’s murder. In a town with a seemingly endless supply of suspects, they have their work cut out for them. The murder mystery is really well crafted. There are several suspects, although I guessed the culprit as soon as they came on the page, but it was fun to see how the story crafted the various details together. Tom and Phil as a duo make sense as they go about trying to reveal the truth. The somewhat weak connection to an old high school classmate is enough of a reason, albeit shaky, to get the two men to work together. From there it’s fun to watch the men circle, disagree, fight, but still continue to be around each other. They also go about investigating in an enjoyable and low key fashion. It doesn’t feel hasty or especially urgent as Tom still has to actually work his day job. It made the mystery the main plot but allowed enough room for the characters, and romance, to grow. I like the romance and chemistry between Tom and Phil. Tom is the first person narrator so we get to see his reactions and intentions very clearly. I was totally on his side regarding his past with Phil, so much so I didn’t quite see how the story would make a Phil a viable romantic partner. However I do have to give Merrow credit because I was actually even rooting for them by the end. I do think Phil is much less well developed. Small details about his past are thrown out but never really followed up on, such as his dead husband or his closeted feelings in high school. I would have liked Phil to take more responsibility for Tom’s accident and verbally acknowledge his own guilt rather than deflect and defend his actions. The only other issue I had was the near final scene when they confront the villain and he typically confesses everything. I had a tough time understanding the logic Tom used for his actions and getting involved in that scene when it seemed out of character and unnecessary but then of course the bad guy tells everything. I hate this contrivance, even as it’s completely common in almost every single murder mystery. The author is talented and clever enough to have come up with an alternate method to resolve all the whodunit. Other than those two, somewhat minor, issues I think Pressure Head is an enjoyable and entertaining read. It has some moments of levity mixed in with a healthy dose of romance and hope for the future. I’m invested in this couple and I want to see where they go. I loved all the nuance and detail the author included from the geographical setting down to the two cats’ behavior. I think most will quite like this offering and even though I probably wouldn’t re-read it, I can easily recommend it. ...more |
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Mar 11, 2015
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| 1623805384
| 9781623805388
| 3.87
| 883
| Mar 26, 2013
| Mar 27, 2013
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it was ok
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I still have about 15% left and I'm not sure I'll finish. Initially I found the book awkward, weird, and clunky. The dialogue is choppy and the charac
I still have about 15% left and I'm not sure I'll finish. Initially I found the book awkward, weird, and clunky. The dialogue is choppy and the characters are bizarre. A 30 y/o near virgin "not gay" man that has no clue about sex? Clearly he's had sex somewhere but he's clueless about condoms. Then the truly weird and off putting sex scene where Colby will rim Terrell repeatedly but not swallow his cum because disease. And Terrell for all his lack of condom use has never gotten tested for disease, ever? No doubt people like this exist but I found the stereotype exaggerated and weird. I was ok to go with it until Colby violates Terrell's trust and the book lost me. I realized how much Colby was manipulating Terrell. All for a good cause, of course, the HEA in love ending but it was wrong. No matter what Terrell's faults, blindsides, and own self destructive instincts he has a right to be those things. It doesn't mean Colby gets to manipulate him and do things for Terrell's own good. When Colby listened to the diaries after Terrell didn't want him to, regardless of the reason, I stopped. I don't care if they end up together, it's a crappy relationship. ...more |
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Mar 06, 2015
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| 1632166011
| 9781632166012
| 3.53
| 115
| Feb 25, 2015
| Feb 25, 2015
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did not like it
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Just ugh. I wanted some hot BDSM shifter sex with a solid mystery and I’ve no clue what I got instead. Some rote, mindless story that had no character
Just ugh. I wanted some hot BDSM shifter sex with a solid mystery and I’ve no clue what I got instead. Some rote, mindless story that had no characterization, nothing interesting in the mystery portion and some really wooden writing. I was bored with the characters almost immediately. They were antagonistic for reasons unknown and then halfway through they decide to have a lot of sex and suddenly be in love. I never got a feel for either character and they came across as stale, uninteresting, and manic. First they were grumbling at each other to extremes then in love to extremes. Neither pole hit the right note and both felt exaggerated beyond enjoyment. Then the mystery is boring and stupid, which is not helped by the writing. The dialogue is stilted and awkward with a lot of repetitive phrases. The men are supposedly investigating deadly accidents happening within the pack but they alternate between being suspicious and utterly ignorant. An out of the blue rockslide makes them curious but they don’t really think it was anything other than an accident. Then why are they suspicious? There’s no real justification for their actions and thoughts and the story is completely without nuance or subtly. It’s very blunt, in your face and the story walks the reader through every emotion and action. I simply didn’t care about the characters, their quasi D/s sex which mostly was short, emotionless statements about positioning before the deep supposedly emotional love making. Let’s just leave it at this didn’t work for me. I started skimming about a third of the way in to see if it got better so I don’t feel right writing a full review. I’m sure I missed several parts, I read the final few chapters and feel safe in saying it doesn’t get better sadly. ...more |
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Mar 04, 2015
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| 1301016071
| 9781301016075
| 3.85
| 2,978
| Dec 15, 2012
| Dec 15, 2012
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really liked it
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4.5 Very interesting book. I initially decided to read it because of the mixed reviews on it – some loving it as pure porn and others being bothered b
4.5 Very interesting book. I initially decided to read it because of the mixed reviews on it – some loving it as pure porn and others being bothered by the close to abuse actions – and it’s free. I figured I was up for some free literary porn so why not take a chance. I have to admit, I loved this book. I found it purely entertaining and it’s really close to porn without a plot, but honestly I thought it was incredibly funny and absorbing with pretty hot sex. There’re definitely some problems that skirt the line and I can see why some readers would be disgusted and discomforted by the aspects depicted. If I was reading a book that took itself seriously I probably would have been as well but since I was reading it with the expectation of being unrealistic porn, I didn’t mind the problems. The plot is a classic hurt/comfort with a large age difference and considerable kink thrown in for good measure. The couple is made up of an older gay doctor (mid 40s I think) who supposedly has such intense and ongoing migraines that he can’t practice medicine anymore. He rescues a young 19ish straight boy that is attacked and traumatized in the bathroom of a local bar on a snowy night. The teen is saving for college and can’t afford a hospital bill and the dr, Evan, decides to take Jamie home to care for him. Evan of course is wildly attracted to Jamie and soon they’re getting it on all the time. First of all Evan likes his twinks barely legal. He reiterates his desire repeatedly so of course the young Jamie hits all his buttons. Evan definitely crosses the line between his kinks, many of which are medical based such as enemas, and his treatment of Jamie as a patient. I honestly didn’t care since I knew Evan was not treating Jamie like he would in a hospital. Hell Evan gets hard just treating Jamie’s raped with a bottle asshole. It definitely could turn off some readers but again, I was reading it as porn so I didn’t care. Then Jamie is straight. Really straight. He gets into the sex with Evan because the story wants him to and he doesn’t seem molested or taken advantage of I have to say. There’s really no explanation why Jamie would be gay for Evan only, which is how it plays out, but again I went with it. What I loved most about the story was the humor. Jamie is a hilarious narrator and he constantly keeps Evan on his toes. Jamie has a new sarcastic name for Evan constantly, “Dr. Kinky Bones” was my favorite. Jamie is no one’s victim and he stands up to Evan regularly. Evan likes to dominate in bed and Jamie gets off on a lot of the same kinks. So sexually they’re well matched, even if it makes absolutely no sense that Jamie would be like that but hey – whatever. There are tons of sex scenes and they’re hot and entertaining. I actually loved reading this for the light fluff porn it was. It’s definitely better written than many comparable books so I think enjoyment hinges on whether the issues of the book are hot buttons for readers. I didn’t mind in a PwP book but some definitely will. ...more |
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Mar 02, 2015
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| B00RY2I18K
| 4.06
| 34
| Jan 16, 2015
| Jan 16, 2015
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liked it
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3.5 stars So I chose this book without reading the summary because the publisher sent an intriguing inquiry for me to review it. I liked the email so 3.5 stars So I chose this book without reading the summary because the publisher sent an intriguing inquiry for me to review it. I liked the email so I gave the book a shot. I’m glad I did because it’s rather entertaining and decently written. This is definitely a series I’d continue with, if I can remember it whenever the sequel gets released. The story is fun, energetic and whimsical with enough supernatural danger to keep things interesting. The only complaints I have are that in keeping the story light and easy, despite ancient Chinese history and supernatural powers, the characters come across very one dimensional and flat. The entire story reads superficially without a lot of depth and complexity. It’s an undemanding story to read with a quirky kind of humor, but definitely did not leave much of a lasting impression and I wanted some more depth and nuance to the various characters. That’s not going to happen with this book or series in general so I’d recommend this for readers who want an easy, fun read with an unusual supernatural backdrop. Alex is a young private detective, orphaned in his teens and still struggling to find his footing. He enjoys his job as a detective and has decently good instincts. He works with an older, much more experienced detective but does most of the undercover work for their two man company. When someone comes asking for their help finding his missing boyfriend, Alex gets deeply involved in the case. He soon finds himself falling for the main suspect, club owner Daniel. Daniel, however, has serious secrets of his own. His unwilling attraction to Alex could land both of them in a lot of trouble with dangerous people and forces. The plot is nicely set up and progresses throughout the story. I didn’t realize it was a supernatural story until part way in and was pretty disappointed at that point, though it was my own fault for not realizing. However I say that only to highlight how unique and clever the supernatural component is because it totally won me over and had me cheering. The link to an ancient Chinese myth, or history, is well done and allows for the only real depth and complexity in the story. It’s a little predictable, and I guessed the other players pretty easily considering there are literally no other options, however that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. Mostly this is due to the main character and first person narrator, Alex. Alex is both the story’s strength and weakness. On the one hand he’s entertaining, intelligent, quick witted, and engaging. On the other, he’s immature, slow to make obvious connections, and sometimes baffling. I couldn’t always predict Alex’s reactions to information and situations mostly because he feels underdeveloped and not fully characterized. He feels very two-dimensional and not realized; almost like the author is creating and refining the character ad-hoc as the story progresses. I thoroughly appreciated that a young, unattached guy in his early twenties would sleep around and I found his exploits not only hot but enjoyable to read. He calls himself a slut, which is a bit harsh when he’s simply having safe fun. However, he and the entire cast feel flat and shallow. The characterization is very superficial at best and often feels neglected. There is a lot of space devoted to developing the connection of the supernatural aspects and very little left for the actual characters themselves. That said I enjoyed this one and read it very quickly. Due to the lack of real depth, I found it an incredibly easy story to read. It had the potential to be a fantastic story with the unique elements but the lack of real characterization kept this superficial. For those readers that are looking for something different and easy, this would fit that. I think it’s better written than a lot of supernatural fluff in the genre for sure. I hesitate to call it fluff, more so light reading, but that’s not a compliant. It’s a story I would easily recommend and I hope to read the sequel. It has a lot of room to grow. ...more |
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Jan 30, 2015
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Kindle Edition
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| 9781623005399
| 3.84
| 70
| Sep 29, 2014
| Sep 30, 2014
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it was ok
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This is kind of a weird book that I’m not sure how to characterize. It’s a shoot ‘em up action style story with a lot of hot sex but the actual plot i
This is kind of a weird book that I’m not sure how to characterize. It’s a shoot ‘em up action style story with a lot of hot sex but the actual plot is convoluted and totally unbelievable. I can get behind a book that needs considerable suspension of disbelief, but Gemini stretches it too far. To accept the sequence of actions and villains in the plot, the good guys don’t come across so well. It’s certainly an attention grabber and I think for those readers that are instantly engaged and absorbed, the flaws may not matter. But as soon as the flaws are noticed, I think it’s a downhill ride to an unsatisfying finish unfortunately. Cass found his current boyfriend in bed with his female best friend so he hopped a plane from England back home to Texas. His twin brother, Paul, lives there and although the two are estranged Cass can’t think of anywhere else to go. Things start to go wrong almost immediately as Cass gets nearly accosted in the airport restroom and his twin isn’t happy to see him at all. Paul has gotten himself into some real trouble and he refuses to talk about it sober. He promises to tell Cass everything once he’s shot some heroin but dies on the bathroom floor from a bad batch while Cass is in the shower. Unable to revive Paul and scared to call the police, Cass is at a loss what to do. Thankfully Paul’s customer Kilo, a mercenary for hire with a strange loyalty to druggie hooker Paul, shows up and he and Cass get it on immediately. Then the two run off to hide from the goons trying to now kill Cass. So for starters the entire plot is pretty ridiculous. The governor of Texas is a client of Paul’s but now wants to kill Cass because … well I don’t think the story ever says why Cass needs to die. There’s a subplot about some kids in a juvenile detention center that are being molested by some richy rich brothers who get the ok from the governor and Paul told a reporter about the issue. The reporter is killed, Paul is given bad drugs and I guess they want to kill Cass because why not. Kilo is the only thing keeping Cass alive and since the two have sex with Paul’s barely dead body on the bathroom floor next to them, it’s safe to say they don’t really care what the reason is as long as they get to have more sex. Which leads to this long and convoluted hiding game where they hide out in Kilo’s nearby safe house, have sex, wander the internet and plan the downfall of the governor. It’s weird honestly. I liked the individual characters and even Cass and Kilo together have some incredibly hot sex, that alley scene is enough to set the book on fire, but there’s just no real purpose to the whole thing. It’s like the story kept throwing in ideas without having a fleshed out map of the various bad guys and how it all fit together. Then the ending is so over the top I literally laughed out loud on a crowded plane I couldn’t help myself. But it’s not that the story is so horribly written is awful. It’s not. Both authors know how to write some great mystery and action stories. Not to mention sometimes I choose books by this duo because I know the sex scenes will always be amazing. When reading though, it feels as though the plot got away from the authors and even with solid characters and great chemistry it couldn’t quite make up for the octopus like tangents that went nowhere or were resolved with super convenient coincidences. I think this could be a hit with the right reader that wants some non-stop action, a lot of sex, and isn’t fussy about the details and how it all fits together. It’s not horrible but I was left wondering how that entire book happened and again… why Cass never even cried about his twin OD’ing. I never could quite get over that neither Kilo nor Cass seemed to mourn Paul even though they both supposedly loved him so much. Either it’s a flaw in the characters themselves or the story for not explaining that and a thousand other confusing points regarding the plot. Suffice it to say I would not recommend or re-read this one but for the right reader, maybe it’ll work. ...more |
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Jan 20, 2015
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Mar 31, 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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ebook
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| 0345544927
| 9780345544926
| 3.96
| 126,155
| Oct 14, 2014
| Oct 14, 2014
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Jan 20, 2015
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May 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 0988564971
| 9780988564978
| 4.14
| 4,129
| Jun 02, 2013
| Jun 04, 2013
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it was ok
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Clearly I’m an extremely odd man out on this one. I haven’t read any reviews but just skimming the good reads page I can see a plethora of 4 and 5 sta
Clearly I’m an extremely odd man out on this one. I haven’t read any reviews but just skimming the good reads page I can see a plethora of 4 and 5 stars so clearly almost everyone loved this book. Even those readers I tend to agree with absolutely loved this book so I’m left wondering what the hell I missed. I’m actually very serious about this – not trying to create discord but could someone please tell me what exactly I’m missing that everyone else loved? I want to like this! I think the author is a very good writer but somehow the plot just seemed ridiculous to me and the characters took a turn from adorable and charming to I hope the crab people kill them. I’m very sad about this and even more so considering I quite liked the first book in the series. Maybe it was the narrator. Anyway the plot truly reads like a bad syfy movie reminiscent of sharktopus or gatoroid, except without the implied humor that it knows its bad. Whyborne, Griffin, and Christine head to Threshold to investigate mysterious, possible supernatural, happenings in the mine there. Whyborne’s father owns a controlling share in the mine town so he hires Griffin to look into the potential trouble there and of course Whyborne and Christine tag along. While there the trio encounter Griffin’s ex-lover from the Pinkertons and numerous strange, unexplained occurrences. Ok to start with the good, since there definitely are several good things about the story. First is that the writing is very good. The descriptive quality and sense of subtle humor threading the entire story is very engaging. All the characters feel well developed and purposeful without a lot of extraneous unimportant cast members. I quite like Whyborne for most of the book. He’s funny, intelligent, and maybe naïve but more so because he is so honest and has the same expectations of others. The scene where he is questioning the prostitutes is truly inspired and I actually listened to it twice because I enjoyed it so much. It shows the perfect mix of his sense of propriety, social unease, and inquisitive mind. Christine once again is easily one of the best female characters in the m/m genre. She is strong, intelligent, caring, and a very good friend without being overbearing, controlling, or manipulative. This easily shows how women can be friends with a gay man without being a horrible bitch and trying to control and direct their lives. That said I struggled so much with the actual plot of the story. Some of the characters did incredibly ridiculous and stupid things, such as Whyborne’s following the note that had an invisible neon sign over it shouting danger! Or Griffin’s rather cruel comment in response to what I thought was natural and understandable jealousy. Then of course Whyborne saves the day in a very predictable and kind of silly finale. And this is the crux of what I disliked about the book. The entire plot felt like a bad horror movie that lacked the tongue in cheek knowing it’s that bad. Here you have crab like aliens, called yayhoos, performing vivisection experiments on people and replacing their brains. It wasn’t funny, it wasn’t scary, it wasn’t interesting…it was just bad. Whyborne comes along at the end like the damsel in distress that gets away way too easily and unbelievably. It’s not that I expect a supernatural story to be realistic. I don’t. But I do expect it to make sense within the context of the story. Here Whyborne, who is very quiet, reserved and non-athletic, is able to accomplish amazing feats of running, ability, and leadership without eating for two days or showing any particular aptitude in those areas. In my opinion his character and Griffin’s suddenly change towards the end of the book to suit the needed action before leading to a resolution. I didn’t believe it and more so I simply could not appreciate the ludicrousness of the plot in general. I can and do appreciate a great shartopus movie for the absurdity of it but mostly because such things know they’re ridiculous and pepper that knowledge in as humor. Here this story felt as though it had no idea the crab, winged crustaceans that replaced people’s brains were not scary. I don’t know. Maybe other people found them to be terrifying. Perhaps I read too much science fiction. Anyway the other issue I had with the story was the narrator. I listened to the audiobook version and I simply did not care for this narrator at all. He has a very bland and somnolent voice. I could hear the narrator attempt to use inflection for the various characters but they all sounded exactly the same to me. In fact I rarely could tell who said what unless the dialogue had tags attached to it. I struggled listening to it with such an unexciting narrator and only the excellence of the writing itself, the sentence structure, description, and engaging dialogue kept me going. So no doubt this influenced my enjoyment of the story but I think the silly plot would have done me in even reading the text version. ...more |
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Jan 20, 2015
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Feb 18, 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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ebook
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| 042525674X
| 9780425256749
| 4.43
| 47,843
| Mar 04, 2014
| Mar 11, 2014
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really liked it
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This series is one of my all-time favorites for sure. I mostly liked this one though I got frustrated with the ex-wife and Adam's inability to actuall
This series is one of my all-time favorites for sure. I mostly liked this one though I got frustrated with the ex-wife and Adam's inability to actually take charge where she was concerned. Considering he's a big bad alpha it was eye rolling. Plus I could have done without Mercy becoming even more of a special snowflake.
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Jan 20, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1627981489
| 9781627981484
| 4.08
| 2,685
| Oct 14, 2013
| Oct 14, 2013
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really liked it
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I found Slide pretty absorbing and interesting but ultimately it left me empty. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I think the basics of th
I found Slide pretty absorbing and interesting but ultimately it left me empty. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I think the basics of the story were good and the author succeeded on several levels, however I think ultimately the plot was too complicated to really execute correctly. Clearly this is meant as the first book to a series and I liked the characters enough to continue with the books I think but I can’t help wishing this first book lived up to its inherent promise. It’s still a worthwhile read in my opinion but it’s not the stunning great read it could have been. That failed expectation was the last impression of the book and thus my disappointment weighs heavily and prominently on my mind when evaluating it. It’s a book I’d recommend, but with some qualifications. The book is essentially about the relationship between Ash, a former homeless addict that has cleaned up his life with the help of his lesbian best friend and became a tattoo artist. He moves in with a roommate Pete, a big-hearted paramedic, and the two eventually fall in love. Their relationship is not easy as communication is a word neither man has heard of nor has any interest in and Ash’s mental status is often dubious at best. The story is told from both Ash and Pete’s POVs mainly to depict Ash’s mental deterioration and how someone who is madly in love with him, and even a trained medical professional, can miss important signs. This is definitely an angst filled story and I thought the author did a good job connecting with that emotion but never overwhelming the reader. Ash’s childhood was clearly traumatic, to say the least, and his shaky mental status offers no real relief. His relationship to Pete is an obvious grounding force and I liked the two men together. They seemed genuinely in love and happy to be together. However I couldn’t help but think they were also two very typical men in their early twenties. They rarely talked, at all or about anything. They mostly let everything slide, which I thought was the motivation for the title. They literally would realize something is bothering the other person or was a sore spot and they simply “let it go.” For almost the entire book their relationship seems based on the ease with which they live together and great sex whenever they happen to have it. Considering Pete’s paramedic job had him working constantly and seemingly always changing hours, the two men weren’t together all that much. When they did have a rare night off they usually played video games or hung out, which is fine but it was pretty rare and definitely did not involve communicating to further their relationship. Not that all relationships need extensive communication but considering the near constant problems Ash dealt with, it was clear to see why Pete never really understood Ash and missed all the signals of Ash’s mental decline. That said I thought the depiction of Ash’s deteriorating mental health was really well done. It was honest and somewhat heartbreaking that everyone around him was so careful that they ignored all his clear cries for help. It shows an honest portrayal that is not always comfortable but genuine nonetheless. The chaotic and often shifting patterns of Ash’s speech and mental musings definitely made sense and worked to show the disconnect he had with people and various aspects of life itself. I think the story did an exceptional job in this area and absolutely did not need the overly convenient plot devices about the abuser/baseball bat guy and the sister. Likewise I loathed the epilogue. (view spoiler)[The entire book sets up this confrontation at the end with Ash realizing he needs help and finally able to ask for it. Then the book jumps a year to show that all was well and includes some pithy lines about how it was hard work to get there. Really? After the entire book shows Ash’s slow decline into needing help, then the solution is to say he got some therapy and all’s well? I’m sorry but what a cop out. Write a second book if you want to make him well because just skipping ahead has totally reduced any emotional impact the book could have had. It lost me entirely with that cheap shortcut. (hide spoiler)] Overall I quite liked the story and the narrator did a decent job. He acted out the story to my amusement. The narrator would read the line then do it if it was an action he could. For example every time someone would sigh, the narrator would read the line “Ash took a deep breath.” Then the narrator would breathe deep. It made me laugh because it was just so ... jarring for lack of a better word. But that’s a minor point to be sure. I liked the secondary characters even they never really made much sense – Joe is a total mystery and I’ve no clue why he was included in the story in the awkward way he was – and the characterization wasn’t always consistent. However I found these to be minor issues for me and didn’t bother me much. Mostly the lack of communication and horrible ending were my biggest issues but I’d still recommend this one. The audiobook version is pretty absorbing too. ...more |
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| 1623806488
| 9781623806484
| 3.99
| 1,507
| Apr 25, 2013
| Apr 26, 2013
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liked it
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I seem to be on an Amy Lane kick and continued with Racing for the Sun audiobook. I found it very interesting and easy to listen to but had a bit of a
I seem to be on an Amy Lane kick and continued with Racing for the Sun audiobook. I found it very interesting and easy to listen to but had a bit of a problem with the main relationship. Here is where the argument of fiction vs. realism really comes into focus. When the singular romantic relationship is clearly unhealthy and one of the protagonists is deeply disturbed, can the book still be enjoyable? Well it’s up to the readers’ tastes then. I read a review with the insightful comment that if the book was M/F then a lot of readers would have really be bothered by the relationship. It’s a true statement for sure and even with M/M I was still bothered. When I tried to look at the book as sheer fiction and over the top romance, I liked it and could enjoy the dysfunctional relationship in that scope. Trying to make it seem realistic or actually healthy in any way just doesn’t work – because it’s not. So I think it’s up to the individual reader. This will likely resonate more with established Lane fans than newcomers, but that’s just a guess. Jasper “Ace” Atchison is from a typical lower class family. Too many kids and not enough money for school led him to enlist in the army. While on his second tour of Iraq he meets Sonny Daye, a too young and scared boy that is willing to do anything. Ace decides to look out for Sonny and help him survive the army. After two years of close calls and plenty of wartime trauma, both men leave the army to set up a garage street racing cars for money. It was Sonny’s dream but Ace is determined to make it come true. I’ll be honest in that the narrative wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Sonny and Ace are not romantic at all while in the army but instead are close friends. Ace is the first person narrator so we know he’s interested in Sonny, probably already in love with him, so that’s why Ace goes to so much trouble to make Sonny’s dreams come true. However, the book takes a really long time to get the two men together so I wasn’t sure when that was going to happen. Even after the army, Ace and Sonny dance around each other unwilling to actually admit the clear attraction between them. I think they both thought the other was straight or weren’t willing to take the chance. I’m not sure but it dragged on a little long and I was frustrated with their inability to actually say anything of importance to each other. Communication is not a skill these two possess at all. However, once they do finally hook up the relationship takes on a very weird vibe. Sonny has a mysterious past that is offered in very small bits and pieces until the very, very end. All the reader knows is that he’s had some kind of traumatic past and is desperate if not psychotic about belonging to someone. This isn’t a BDSM kind of owning but Sonny likens it to a dog having a owner. So when he and Ace get together, Sonny is literally obsessed with belonging to Ace. Sonny is a complicated and complex character no doubt, but he’s not exactly a nice, likable person. He’s pretty much an ass most of the time to everyone, including Ace. And Sonny’s insistence on being owned is dysfunctional and downright disturbing. Ace feeds into this because he loves Sonny and even goes against his own desires and instincts, such as the shower scene with the knives. I appreciated that Ace, being his own complicated protagonist, had much more reasonable conflicted feelings about it sometimes but overall he simply wanted to make Sonny happy and secure so he wasn’t interested in questioning Sonny’s motives or the source of his dysfunction. The relationship can certainly be seen as romantic and I often thought that. The two men are deeply in love and the whole “you’re mine, forever” kick is of course what everyone wants to think about true love. So if you can get aside the fact that Sonny’s traumatic past has pretty much scarred him and his psyche for life and he’ll never have a functional, healthy, independent relationship, then sure the book is pretty romantic. It has its share angst, which I always love and appreciate in deeply moody books. I had no problems with Ace’s actions at the end and actually really applauded the entire thing. It made sense to me. I like to think that Ace and Sonny lived happily ever after and they certainly had the strength and love to do it, all problems aside. I just couldn’t quite shake that uneasy feeling that lingered in the back of my head whenever I paused the book and let myself leave the fictional romantic world. Overall I enjoyed the story and the narrator was good. I didn’t always like the voice and accent he gave Ace, which sounded southern twanged to me for no real reason. But the gruff, growly timber fit the characters very well and he had an easy voice to listen to. I think I probably enjoyed the story more as an audiobook and could get into the romantic headspace more that way. I enjoyed the pace and the writing is as crisp and evocative as ever. It reminded me of why I love Lane’s truly angsty works. She knows how to ride the line of a lot of angst and drama but never too much. I think if readers can appreciate the relationship as romantic, and not unhealthily co-dependent, they’ll likely enjoy the book. ...more |
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| 4.08
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liked it
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Aug 10, 2015
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| 4.35
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liked it
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not set
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Jul 08, 2015
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| 3.76
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really liked it
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not set
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Jul 01, 2015
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| 3.66
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it was ok
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not set
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Jun 19, 2015
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| 4.32
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it was ok
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not set
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Jun 15, 2015
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| 4.40
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it was amazing
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not set
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Jun 04, 2015
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| 3.59
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did not like it
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May 05, 2015
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May 01, 2015
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| 3.97
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liked it
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not set
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Apr 29, 2015
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| 3.81
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really liked it
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not set
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Apr 17, 2015
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| 3.77
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it was ok
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not set
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Apr 13, 2015
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| 3.59
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liked it
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Apr 17, 2015
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Apr 13, 2015
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| 3.73
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it was ok
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not set
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Apr 06, 2015
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| 4.12
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it was amazing
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not set
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Apr 02, 2015
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| 4.22
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really liked it
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May 2015
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Mar 31, 2015
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| 3.93
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liked it
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not set
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Mar 31, 2015
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| 4.11
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it was amazing
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not set
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Mar 23, 2015
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| 3.58
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it was ok
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not set
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Mar 19, 2015
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| 3.77
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liked it
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not set
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Mar 19, 2015
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| 4.28
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liked it
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not set
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Mar 17, 2015
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| 3.90
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really liked it
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not set
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Mar 11, 2015
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| 3.87
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it was ok
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not set
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Mar 06, 2015
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| 3.53
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did not like it
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not set
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Mar 04, 2015
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| 3.85
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really liked it
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not set
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Mar 02, 2015
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| 4.06
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liked it
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not set
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Jan 30, 2015
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| 3.84
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it was ok
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Mar 31, 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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| 3.96
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May 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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| 4.14
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it was ok
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Feb 18, 2015
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Jan 20, 2015
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| 4.43
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really liked it
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not set
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Jan 20, 2015
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| 4.08
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really liked it
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not set
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Jan 20, 2015
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| 3.99
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liked it
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not set
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Jan 15, 2015
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