Friday, May 6, 2016

Book Review: White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

17455585
Series: The Dark Elements Book #1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Rating: 4 Stars
How I Got It: Borrowed from Library/Own an ebook edition
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal, New Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.


Review

I really enjoyed this but I don't have much to say. It's a Jennifer L. Armentrout book and I want to keep reading. But I still like the Lux books better.

I like the idea of Gargoyles. It isn't something I've read before. The Demon things remind me a lot of the Sweet books by Wendy Higgins, but I don't mind.

Layla was a great character. She's a little immature, but she's only seventeen and has a lot going on. So, I forgive her. Zayne bothered me a little. He kept calling her childish when he was either being the same or she was actually reasonable.

Now, I've heard there's a pretty intense love triangle in this series. I also know Ms. Armentrout let the readers decide who Layla would end up with. This scares the crap out of me. I'm very much on Team Roth and don't want to see him hurt. We'll see how I feel after reading book two.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

April Wrap-Up (2016)

In April, I got a promotion at work. This is great for a bunch of reasons, but has also cut into my reading time. Eventually, I will find a new schedule/situation that works for me.

And I have a new love now. I think I equally love Maria V. Snyder and Yelena from the Study series. More people need to read these books because they are amazing. It's actually been a couple weeks since I read the second book and I'm still thinking about these characters/books.

Here are the books I read in April and my ratings:

Poison Study-5 Stars
60510

One Night for Love-4 Stars
71651 
A Steel Town-3 Stars 
23706137

Magic Study-4 Stars
1265703

City of Champions-3.5 Stars
21918302

White Hot Kiss-4 Stars
17455585
Bitter Sweet Love-3 Stars
17455811

Lingus-4 Stars



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Monday, May 2, 2016

Review: City of Champions by Chloe T. Barlow

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Series: Gateway to Love Book #2
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Self-published

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads
 
How do you find the will to try, when you've spent all your life playing on a field strewn with shattered lives and broken rules?

Tragedy and betrayal taught Jenna Sutherland early on that her safest bet was to fiercely avoid any risk, whether it is in work, life, or love. Now a respected orthopedic surgical resident on the cusp of finally breaking through in her career, she’s more guarded than ever.

When injured NFL quarterback Wyatt McCoy bulldozes into her life there’s no denying he’s cocky, selfish, and downright dangerous — everything Jenna’s sworn she doesn’t want.

Suddenly the levelheaded doctor finds herself facing down her greatest fear, and she’s tempted to gamble all she’s fought so hard to build. The two embark on an intense holiday love affair that quickly teeters on obsession, and tempts them both to think they could go all-in on a real future together. Yet Wyatt's desperation to stay on the field — and out of the operating room — lures him to take dangerous risks with Jenna's trust.

Will they win at love or lose everything — including their fragile chance at happiness?


Review

Have you ever wanted to like a book so you started justifying things that bother you? That's what I kept doing while I read this. I did like it more than A Steel Town but just barely. This may sound mean but the writing needs more polish. It may be an editing issue. The dialogue-internal too-often felt disjointed. There were also some continuity errors which is a personal pet peeve.

The characters are fine. A little irrational but fine. I did like Jenna when she wasn't acting like a hormonal teenager. I totally get being attracted to someone but I don't get potentially sacrificing a job you've spent years and tons of money to obtain on a nice body and good sex.  That's what would frustrated me. Then there was Wyatt who was more likeable than I was expecting. But he could have been better developed.

The romance worked especially when they stopped playing games. There was a decent amount of not talking to each other but what are you going to do. I don't know why but I did find some of Wyatt's behavior kind of inappropriate. He would force himself on Jenna and say she wanted him. It's a tough situation because she did want him physically but was still coming to terms with it in her head. Teenage me would've found this super hot but as I get older I'm starting to see the dangers of this type of behavior. Now, i think ms. Barlow meant it to be innocent but it still sets a bad precedent.

This didn't have suspense elements like her other book. It's more of a straight up contemporary romance which I prefer. It isn't the strongest book but it's OK and a quick read.

Thanks for reading!
Holly