I've read a few other reviews on this book and see that it has mixed reviews. Part of me understands that, the other part of me is sad.
I think that iI've read a few other reviews on this book and see that it has mixed reviews. Part of me understands that, the other part of me is sad.
I think that in the world of Dystopian novels, Rook moved a little slow as far as the story goes, but I think what impacted it even more was the fact that it started off rather fast paced, and then once we hit the Engagement party it kind of dropped off. So high expectations from chapter 1 dropped off. It took me a couple days of reading a page or two, but steady plotting, to bring me back on the side of this being a good book.
I enjoyed Rene, and his ever changing character. That first glimpse into who he really was the turning point for my opinion of this book. I just remember grinning like, "ah...now this is interesting."
This book changes perspective, and it doesn't "tell you" it's happening, so you have to pay attention and sometimes adjust from paragraph to paragraph, but I found myself quite enjoying this aspect of the book as well.
Rook did feel a little like watching a strategy game unfold. Sometimes I wasn't sure what cards the characters were actually holding vs what was being shared with the reader. I found the unraveling of information to be a good pace in the end
The one part that was offsetting for me was the end, post-climax, I felt that was drawn out beyond the life of the book a bit. Granted, I don't like choppy endings either, but I felt like there was another smaller game being played in the middle of the bigger game, and it ended up just feeling a little out of place in my opinion. ...more
Once again, Michelle has created a masterpiece that sucks you in right from the start and keeps you stuck until the very end. She is excellent at creaOnce again, Michelle has created a masterpiece that sucks you in right from the start and keeps you stuck until the very end. She is excellent at creating a scene, including you you in the conversation and causing you to feel. Saving Detroit is a small break from her previous, Urban Fantasy, genre. A small break that I expect to be repeated over and over, because Michelle is too busy writing whatever is in her heart at that moment to be stuck in a single category.
What I Loved: I loved that this book is a piece of Michelle's heart, which is absolutely evident in every word, paragraph, chapter. She put her heart and soul into this book for many reasons. She clearly had a few purposes in writing this book; one of them was an introduction into the true character of God - not the version we see plastered in news stories on Facebook, or through the condemning words of the misguided, but the God of love and patience and persistence.
I loved the other purpose of this book, which is to draw attention to an overlooked issue in this country; sex trafficking, and the even more over looked victims; boys and men. When I first started reading this book I was thrown when things started to take a turn for the dark. In the back of my mind I'm thinking, 'what?! no...' but reality is, anyone and everyone can be a victim, and our culture such as it is will constantly shy away from MEN being a victim of anything. Especially in this arena. Its a thought that often gets swept under the rug and ignored. Sure there are some news stories, especially when its children involved, but they tend to fade away and get forgotten. This book draws attention to this issue, not only that, but it kind of throws it in your face and makes you want to PAY attention. To do something about it.
Not So Much: This book gutted me at times, it was difficult to read, difficult to process at times. It was at those moments I really wanted to put the book down and take a break.
The Verdict: I implore you, whether you are a Christian or not, give this book a chance. Let it wiggle it's way into your heart, and truly let yourself hear the message that it is singing through every page....more
What I Loved: A small town romance is always a great read, in my book. I always love the town dynamics where everyone knows everyone and their businesWhat I Loved: A small town romance is always a great read, in my book. I always love the town dynamics where everyone knows everyone and their business. There are always close-knit families and an abundance of drama, and this book was no exception.
I enjoyed getting to know Matt and Shay, and watching their relationship build again. Their story was actually quite sweet and a bit sappy too.
The side characters really took this book for me. I loved Louise, actually. It would be cool to see her get a book, in my opinion. I also really liked Matt’s grandparents, and their quirkiness, and involvement in the family unit as a whole.
Not So Much: This book is not a ‘clean’ by my standards, meaning that the sex scenes are a bit more descriptive than they were emotional, but that isn’t what I didn’t like so much as I kind of felt like the scenes were cookie cutter. They may have started in different places or took on a different series of events – but the same kind of responses and the same descriptors were used for each one. It’s weird for me to add this to my review, since this is not in my normal ‘scope’ but I guess it just stood out to me as I read, and maybe because it isn’t a normal for me I noticed it more.
I hate complete segregation from a parental figure. I was raised to honor your parents, love and respect them…this does not mean give over your life to them, allow them to rule over your, but there is able to be respect without giving them that power over your life. I wanted Shay to find a bit more peace with her mother, or her father to step in and lay down the law. And that was another frustrating point for me – why didn’t Shay go to her father more, if they had such a great relationship? Surely at some point he would have actually done something that would make the difference instead of letting one person run and rule over their lives. ...more
What I Loved: This story unraveled at a very nice pace, and had the flavor of a fairy-tale, which falls right into my current Beauty and the Beast modWhat I Loved: This story unraveled at a very nice pace, and had the flavor of a fairy-tale, which falls right into my current Beauty and the Beast mode as it is. I enjoyed that there were bits of magic interwoven throughout this story; you know that Britta is special, but it really isn’t fully unveiled until much later just how much, and then it maintains a bit of a ‘witch hunt’ atmosphere. I felt like the pace of this book moved along smoothly, yet didn’t skimp on the background either. I honestly thought that I was reading a stand alone because of all the detail and the way the whole thing was unraveling.
I loved the relationship between Britta and Cohen’s friendship/relationship. Of course there is the attraction between them which is kept at a sizzle most of the time, but they also bicker and get on each other’s nerves, just the way you would expect old friends to do. They protect each other, even in moments when they don’t seem to be on the same side of the fence.
Britta’s captors were an interesting mix of people. I did like that not all of them were mean/evil-natured, but that despite her circumstance, she had a friend as well.
Not So Much: So the first, and probably most common mistake of any book relationship – the relationship between Britta and Cohen could have been set to rights by conversing. Even when there was this big secret being held, there was so much talking that could have been done, instead there were long pauses and assumptions the entire time…it got old very quickly.
Second, I thought I was reading a stand alone, even though I sort of knew I wasn’t at the same time. This kind of book ALWAYS is part of a series. But I’m very unpleased with the way this one ended, and I’m not even sure I want to continue. It will take some good reviews and research on my part, because I’m not sure I can handle another book of no talking and secrets that are the biggest source of drama throughout the book.
The Verdict: I'm iffy on this. I liked it a lot, but there were issues that make me hesitant to continue. The book was clean and appropriate for YA....more
What I Loved: While this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this book was its own story. So many different elements and theories were poured intoWhat I Loved: While this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this book was its own story. So many different elements and theories were poured into this rendition, it was so lovely to see the story through a different lens. Only the trace outline of the story that is so familiar existed in this rendition.
My absolute favorite part about this book, for the very first time this story opened my eyes to a new reality in all of the Beauty and the Beast tales, and I’m not sure why I haven’t seen it before. Most (Disney) stories are about a Princess who needs rescued. And yes, there are many of the newer movies where this reoccurrence has been dropped to have the strong female lead, but I think we all forget to look at Beauty in this light. In fact, the roles are completely reversed and it has always been Beast that needs rescued. There is a scene in which one of Yeva’s (Beauty’s) sisters point out, [paraphrased quote] “you are not a knight in shining armor riding off to defeat the enemy and rescue the princess,” but is she not? Does she not break the spell releasing the Beast from his curse…in the many retellings, this is done mostly the same way. This book is unique in the curse and it’s ways, but the concept is still there.
The conclusion, and Yeva’s self evaluation though, beautifully done.
Not So Much: I felt like it took a little while to really get into the thick of this story. While most of the first few chapters are story and character building, I felt it moved slow. But once I got through the beginning the real story, the one I was anxious to get to, reeled me in really quick.
Due to Yeva’s skill sets and the title being “Hunted” and all, I did long for a bit more action as well.
The Verdict: I will be adding a hard-copy of this book to my shelf. I loved it. There are many words I really wanted to share in this review, however so many of the things I wanted to discuss could have been viewed as spoilery, simply because the best part about this book is going in knowing it’s basically a retelling, but not really knowing the story at all. As all the parts of it start to become clear – THIS is the joy in this book! Hunted is very YA friendly, and a familiar story beautifully re-imaged....more
What I Loved: A Million Junes is one of those books that in its own way, unfolds in multiple timelines while maintaining a consistent current timelineWhat I Loved: A Million Junes is one of those books that in its own way, unfolds in multiple timelines while maintaining a consistent current timeline. It's different than other books like it, because even on those multiple timelines, the time period can be pretty fluid. You jump in and out of the story at a variety of points. I’m hoping this isn’t considered a ‘spoiler’ because I wanted to bring it up to point out that there was not one point throughout this story where I was confused. I find this pretty much amazing!
There is so much to really enjoy about this book, the friendship between June and her best friend Hannah for starters. Their friendship seemed so real, and exactly how you would expect a senior in high school friendship to be. It wasn’t too over-the-top teenagery, but they also behaved in a way that seemed appropriate for their age. Again, I think that this is something that many authors struggle with, the characters tend to end up feeling too over the top in the rebellious teenage direction or way too mature for their age.
I enjoyed June and Saul’s relationship – the way it unfolded naturally, it wasn’t all heat and passion, but a slow moving thing that they felt around and pushed, pulled and formed it into something real. It was perfect, specifically because of its forbidden element. The blurb sort of compares it to Romeo and Juliet, but it’s not a retelling at all. I loved that do not rush headlong into something, but really take time to evaluate each other and make the best decisions they can on their own.
So while all of those things are good, the best part of this book is the mystery, the curse, and the unwinding of information. The flow of the words coming off the pages is intoxicating in itself. This was a most excellently written piece of art!
Not So Much: Some of the minor characters – specifically the creative writing teacher - and their motives I didn’t quite get, honestly. I can understand, I suppose, needing another antithesis/pushing point, but at the same time I think that goal could easily have been accomplished without the additional character, or attempting to play up her importance. She was a bit oxymoron-ish as a character as well, she seemed to serve a dual – almost conflicting – purpose in my opinion. Anyhow, this is about the only kind of/sort of not wonderful thing I can say about this book. I’d say that’s pretty good!
The Verdict: I am in love with this book. It was fantastic…if you couldn’t tell that's what I thought already. It’s a YA, very clean and tidy, and yet, nothing more was needed to make it…more. If you like a lyrical style of writing, and settings that are kind of blurry in nature, very fluid and changing – this book is definitely for you, and if you don't, I still implore you to give it a chance!
**This book was an Advanced Reader Copy from FirstToRead.com; other than the joy of reading – I was granted no compensation to review this book.**...more
What I Loved: This is exactly what I was looking for, when I started reading. Sweet romance, sweet characters; some but little conflict and a sappy smWhat I Loved: This is exactly what I was looking for, when I started reading. Sweet romance, sweet characters; some but little conflict and a sappy smile at the end. I always enjoy reading a little bit about the sports, and the passion that the characters have for their chosen sport. A lot of times it makes me want to try it myself. Not this time though, I don’t think I’d do very well with hockey!
I really loved how Pierce actually was pretty much as oblivious to Lia as she thought that he was, though she really went through lengths to make sure it was true for him and many others. However, when he laughed about the whole water bottle story, that sealed it for me; I pretty much loved him from that point on. He was this small-town superstar that had no idea he was embodying two different personalities. Lia was as well, so the whole online persona thing was a fun way to bring this all together.
But my favorite moment between Lia and Pierce is when they skate together. ONE TIME they skate together, that is weird to me since they are both skaters…but what a fun, YA/Teenagey scene!!! Books need more fun and laughter and play and a little less of the wall-to-wall seriousness.
Not So Much: This was another book where you can pretty much predict everything from the moment you pick up the book. That is okay. I mean I wanted a simple fun read, that’s what I got. But I do love it when the author throws me for a loop now and then. Also, we got ONE really good moment where Pierce blocks Lia in his arms in the ice ring, I kind of wish he had a little bit more of that in him.
The Verdict: Another winner for me! I’ll be searching out more of Erin’s books when I need that silly smile of a happy book for sure. This book was perfect for YA’s – I wouldn’t mind if my 12 year old daughter read it....more
Operation Prom Date popped up in one of the author Facebook groups I’m a part of, and even when the book was simply being talked about I just knew I hOperation Prom Date popped up in one of the author Facebook groups I’m a part of, and even when the book was simply being talked about I just knew I had to have it!
What I Loved: So there wasn’t much ‘new’ happening in this book that hasn’t happened before, guy helps girl land the guy of her dreams while not realizing she’s actually falling for guy. What makes this one a bit different is that the guy (Cooper) doesn’t already have a crush on Kate before they get started. So watching them both get sucker punched with the reality was fun.
Cindi has written some major chemistry between Kate and Cooper, even from the beginning Cooper is pretty much swoon worthy, and you’re ready to leave whats-his-face in the dust. As it should be. But the first kiss…watch out for that one, its a dousy!
Not So Much: I mentioned it above, but this book really isn't new. I kind of wish there were more un-redeemable qualities about Mick, besides his unfortunate name and just being a typical teenage jock. But really that's all I can come up with.
The Verdict: This is a fun, sappy, super swoon-worthy read. It took me...eh, a day to finish it (if you count 2am as the same day, that is). It was very clean and appropriate for the YA genre, but does not skip out on the heat between Kate and Cooper. I loved it!...more
Paper Hearts is actually book 2 of the Heart Breaker's Chronicles. I didn't realize that. Or maybe I did and decided I didn't care, I can't remember,Paper Hearts is actually book 2 of the Heart Breaker's Chronicles. I didn't realize that. Or maybe I did and decided I didn't care, I can't remember, but it didn't reflect in the story at all. Anyhow, every now and then I can't resist the whole regular person/celebrity fantasy (um, duh, Cinder & Ella!). Also road-trip books are another of my favorite tropes.
What I Loved: I always love when I pick up a book and it doesn't let me put it down. That is what happened with this book. I started it Saturday morning, and I stayed up late Saturday evening to finish it (I had other stuff to do in the middle, or else it wouldn't have taken me over 12 hours to finish it!)
So Alec's personality was soooooo much swoon-worthy to me. He lacked all the arrogant famous person thing, but at the same time he seemed to take it in stride. He was mostly just nonchalant about it - which was nice since it didn't really take over the entire story. He also stood out as introverted to me (which is opposite of what you would expect from a member of a famous band) but it made him more appealing. I also LOVE the band and their camaraderie. It makes me want to go back and read book 1.
I also really enjoyed Felicity when she was with Alec and her friends. She was friendly and fun. The chemistry between her and Alec is what kept me going for sure.
Not so Much: So Felicity was a little yo-yo on the personality front. She would be so awesome and reasonable some moments, and then disappear into herself and her worries. Many times she was doing things she knew she shouldn't be - and naturally it blows up in her face in a world of misunderstanding. It was a little frustrating.
The Verdict: Paper Hearts was a great read - and will make for an awesome book to take to the beach! It was very older-teen oriented, but not inappropriate. I do think I'm going to be looking up book 1, and following these Chronicles out.
**This book was an Advanced Reader Copy from Netgalley.com; other than the joy of reading – I was granted no compensation to review this book.**...more
Once again, Cassie Mae masterfully writes characters that are not only relatible, but have become your BFF's for ...this time, a week, because I couldOnce again, Cassie Mae masterfully writes characters that are not only relatible, but have become your BFF's for ...this time, a week, because I couldn't find time in the week to get into a 'serious relationship' with this book...until I got the flu. Go Flu for providing downtime with a book!
What I Loved: So many things. I think the pacing of this book is going to take the win for me though. You know pretty much right off the bat that Kennedy is about ready to move on in life, but its still a work in progress. The process of getting her to the point where she was really ready isn't skipped over. This goes for Aaron as well....and I especially love that. There are a lot of books where both MCs have issues, and one of them is skimmed over and sort of swept under the rug with a single conversation while the other is more fleshed out - but here both Kennedy and Aaron get equal parts healing and character development time, and in a way that made sense. That was HUGE for me.
I also loved that this book sucked me in from the first chapter. I have a little bit of a 3 chapter rule...you get three chapters to engage me or I'm out...but Cassie Mae never takes that long. She makes sure to grab your attention from the start.
I also loved the thunderstorms, the stars, the DOG....the twins, the setting. The laugh-out-loud moments and the moments that were a bit gut-wrenching.
Not So Much: So one thing...there are twins, and one half of them happens to be Aaron, but it's not the first twin you (or Kennedy) meets. Both Kennedy and Austin (twin 2) are coming to town at the same time. But as the story progresses, you find that everyone is talking about Aaron just arriving and his first interactions with some of the small-town folk. I kept going back and reading and re-reading trying to make sure I understood. THEN finally a few chapters later you find out that yes, indeed, both Austin and Aaron came back to town around the same time. My head was doing loops, I mean eventually I kind of guessed that was what happened, but before it was laid out I was like.."but why wasn't it mentioned?"
The Verdict: Great book. Great ADULT book. Meant for ADULTs! :) But Cassie Mae at her finest!
(Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.)...more
What I Loved: This book was just real enough to believe. I continued to go back and forth between thinking, 'no way...there is no way that so many peoWhat I Loved: This book was just real enough to believe. I continued to go back and forth between thinking, 'no way...there is no way that so many people would be okay with this,' and thinking 'how far away from this are we now, really...not much.' There were many aspects of the corporation that were very familiar, as there are things (on a much smaller scale) that my own corporation does (ie. onsite health clinic, badges that track where you are in the building, etc.).
Not So Much: First of all, Mae was kind of a pushover. She bought in to everything so easily. I felt like she really had a hard time having her own thoughts. In the moments when it seemed like she was falling into a more....reasonable thought process, something would happen or she would mentally talk herself out of it.
Second, as mentioned, I had a hard time thinking so many people would be okay with the kind of integration that The Circle was attempting. Many times I had to remind myself that the perspective that we are getting in this book was dominantly an 'inside The Circle' view, and aside from a few minor characters - you don't get any other perspective.
Third, I felt like the ending was a huge let down.
The Verdict: If you like the series "Black Mirror" this book is for you. Like 110%, you're going to love it. I didn't care for the series, and I was very luke-warm about this book. This book is an adult book, and it has adult scenes....more
My husband and I both enjoyed Illuminea so much that we purchased the audiobook of Gemina almost immediately afterward.
What I Loved: I’m still reallyMy husband and I both enjoyed Illuminea so much that we purchased the audiobook of Gemina almost immediately afterward.
What I Loved: I’m still really enjoying this world that has been created, and the way that these books are laid out. This time we start out in a court room reviewing documents against BeiTech. From there we are told a story once again through the IMs, documents and video surveillance cameras as we were previously. Similar to Illuminea, we are dealing with not only BeiTech and another invasion, but another outside conflict – this time in the form of human-eating aliens.
The characters in this book grew on me as the story progressed, which was good because I didn’t care much for Hanna at all at the beginning. The characters Hanna and Nik are both just as fun and witty as Kady and Ezra were, but very much their own people. The best character by far, though, was Nik’s cousin. I just LOVED her ‘voice’ throughout the entire book. Hanna’s was kind of amazing when she applied all of her convenient training – and started scaling the ship like a super-spy. Nik was an awesome hero and ladies man
Not So Much: So there is some drug usage in this book. It does play it’s part I suppose, but I never care for any kind of drug recreational usage in a YA novel. It’s just a ‘thing’ for me. I was also disappointed at first of the lack of Kady and Ezra in this book, as I had grown to love them in Illuminae. I did really enjoy this book, but honestly, it really just followed the same exact outline of Illuminae – granted the story was different, and the aliens were some bad dudes, the general outline is there. I really hope that the future book will not fall into the same rut.
The Verdict: I don’t think it was possible for this to have been better than Illuminae no matter what way you shake it. I really do love the world that has been established, and at this point I really want to see BeiTech go down – hard. So I will be listening or reading anything else that comes up in this series. As far as clean goes – the cussing was cut back by a LOT in this book (though as it was previously – all cussing is blanked out in the actual book the audiobook makes it clear what is being said). I mentioned the drug usage previously – and that would really be my big hang-up with the whole YA genre....more
I gobbled this book up like candy! It was a great adventure, indeed. I did find the idea of all of these teenaged pirates a little off - but I didn'tI gobbled this book up like candy! It was a great adventure, indeed. I did find the idea of all of these teenaged pirates a little off - but I didn't mind once I was completely engrossed in the story!! ...more
I got this book from NetGalley (typically they tell you NOT to start with this information because readers will think your review is skewed…apparentl I got this book from NetGalley (typically they tell you NOT to start with this information because readers will think your review is skewed…apparently I don’t care…), and it was a bit of a surprise actually. I think I was just browsing the shelves of NetGalley one day and I have a rule – I can request 3 books at a time. Once those three books are cycled through, I’ll go request 3 more. This keeps me from over-committing myself. I hate when I do that and find myself in a rebellious (to my self) cycle of hating everything I’m reading simply because I obligated myself to read it. It’s silly..but it happens. ANYHOW, I don’t remember requesting this book, but I’m sure I did. I do love a regency novel now and then, and the mere mention of Pride and Prejudice probably would have me hitting “request” pretty quickly. And I find the lavender in the cover rather pretty, I’m sure that helped some too. But when I got the email, I was like, ‘what is this madness??’
What I Loved: The setting of course is a given, I loved both Gloucestershire, and the small-town life and community. I also loved when the book picked up again in London, and all her glory. I so enjoyed Lavina and her strong-willed ways. Nicholas and his teasing and sarcasm. I truly enjoyed all of the characters in this book, even the characters who didn’t have redeeming qualities because they played their part in the story as a whole.
I do love the growth of the characters, especially Lavina, as she learned that her self-sacrificing ways were also a huge pride issue for her that had resulted in a prejudice, and judgmental spirit as well.
Another surprise for me was that this turned out to be a Christian novel. I’m sure I knew that when I requested it, but since I just started reading without looking at what I was reading again, I was like..oh, okay. I don’t always grab Christian novels because I find a lot of them to be a bit over ‘preachy’ – which I find unnecessary because well…Christians are the most likely to pick up a Christian novel. However, this book had a surprisingly good sermon included. The best I had ever read in a novel such as this. It was so good I took a few screen shots and posted it to social media. I was convicted as much as the characters of the story were. Surprise-surprise. I love when books buck my own judgmental ways!
Not So Much: I’m the first to tell you that I love a good re-tell. I seek them out, actually. But when I first started reading this, I kept wondering if it was supposed to be a Pride and Prejudice retell or not. Actually, I do think it was supposed to show reflections of the classic story, but it was a story all it’s own too. I’m still a bit confused on this issue.
Okay, so our main characters were so confused for almost this entire story. I felt like they did a lot of not-talking about what was going on, causing all kinds of misunderstandings. I am all for misunderstandings and reconciliations, but the number of times that Nicholas had to apologize started to get a bit ridiculous. I was at about 85% when this ball dropped again and nearly put the book down in frustration. There were plenty of other conflicts, in my opinion, that could have been expounded on, that this misunderstanding each other one needed to be laid to rest at some point.
The Verdict: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Even though I admit to having almost put it down, I am so glad I did not. As I was wrapping it up last night before bed, the ending of the novel left me with that happy glow of an excellently executed HEA. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to remark on how clean the novel was…but it is squeaky, and STILL a fantastic despite my small misgivings....more
Loading...
