Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Top 10 Tuesday: Books I’ve Read So Far (2015)




Top 10 Tuesday was created by the Broke and the Bookish. You can find more information here
 


Like almost any list I do (here or on Youtube) there is no actual order to this. I just don’t like picking favorites. Also I’m putting series on here as one section-otherwise the Addicted Series by Krista and Becca Ritchie would be half the list.

On to the list:
1)      Confess by Colleen Hoover
2)      Trade Me by Courtney Milan
3)      The Addicted Series by Krista and Becca Ritchie
4)      Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry
5)      Asking for It by Lilah Pace
6)      For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
7)      Amour Amour by Krista and Becca Ritchie
8)      The Duke and the Lady in Red by Lorraine Heath
9)      The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen
10)   Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Thanks for reading!

Monday, June 29, 2015

Novella Review: The Assassin and the Healer by Sarah J. Maas



Book: The Assassin’s Blade
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased

This one was pretty average for me. I definitely liked the first one better. This one felt more like a character piece, but it’s kind of short to completely work.

I’ve said before that I’m not the biggest fan of Celaena. She’s kind of arrogant and then she has moments of being very nice and sympathetic to those around her. I guess my problem is that I don’t understand why she feels bad for them-especially at the point in time this novella takes place. I think the problem is that so much of her past is secretive for story reasons, so I just don’t get how she became the person she is.

I did like the other “main” character in this story. She was interesting and very likeable. I think Miss Arrogant-pants could learn from her. I actually liked her so much that I hope she makes another appearance either in these novellas or the books in the series proper.

Thanks for reading!

Friday, June 26, 2015

Book Review: Breathe by Abbi Glines



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Series: Sea Breeze Book #1
Format: Ebook
Rating: 3 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased

I think I can safely say that the Abbi Glines crack doesn’t work for me. And this makes me sad because I feel like I’m on the outside of a club. I enjoy her books, but they don’t blow me away or completely suck me in. I do plan on continuing to read them though. This is an OK book. At only one book in, I do think I like the Rosemary Beach books better.

Jax and Sadie are both decent characters. I wish there had been more (or longer) Jax POVs so I could get to know him more. And I usually enjoyed those sections when they showed up. I also liked Marcus and feel really bad for him. My big issue with Rush (from the Too Far books) was how much of an alpha-hole he was. Jax talked like an alpha but didn’t act like one which I really appreciated.

My biggest complaint is the dialogue. It often felt stilted and unnatural. If you read it out load it would not have flowed well. But I feel like this was earlier in Ms. Glines books so that could be why. The writing, in general, was way too much tell instead of show. And there was a lot of repetition.

The romance was good. I’m not a big fan of the billionaire trope and this is related to that one. I do think it progressed a little too fast but that’s fairly standard for NA/romance so I can usually overlook it.

Like I already said I do plan on reading more of the series. The Rosemary Beach books definitely got better as the series progressed, so I’m hoping this is the same. But I don’t know if I’ll keep reading right away because I have no immediate urge to read about the side characters.

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Book Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins



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Series: Sweet Trilogy (Book 1)
Format: Paperback
Pages:447
Rating: 4 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased

This is actually a re-read for me. I want to re-read the whole trilogy (one book a month) in preparation for Sweet Temptation which comes out in September.

I definitely saw some flaws I missed the first time around, but I completely stand behind my 4 star rating.

One of the things I like about this series is how religion is incorporated. And I’m not a particularly religious person. So many paranormal books with angels and demons avoid the ideas of God and religion. Plus, it’s an added conflict for Anna since she is so religious but is told she’ll go to hell no matter what she does in her life.

Some of the dialogue feels a little stiff especially from Kai. I think it’s because Ms. Higgins is so focused on him being British. But it isn’t constantly like that.

I do really like Anna. She’s definitely a good girl, but she has to face some serious temptations. It’s like Ms. Higgins is addressing common teenage temptations (sex, drugs, alcohol), but in an even more high-stakes environment. Kai is also a great “bad boy.” He reminds me of a slightly tamer Daemon Black.

I think the best praise I can give this is that I really wanted to read the second book right away. I already know how this whole series plays out, but am still eager to check it out again.

Thanks for reading!