Edrie Elen

~Review first appeared on The Bent Bookworm!~I love the original A Christmas Carol, so I was super excited when I realized that this retelling was by Cynthia Hand, one of the lovely authors of My Lady Jane (which is AWESOME and if you haven't read it what are you waiting on go now). If you haven't read the original but have seen a movie adaptation, you'll still “get it” for this book...if you haven't read or seen it you might not enjoy it quite as much, but it's all somewhat explained within this particular story.When I started reading this, I was about 20% through when I whined on GR that the main character, Holly, was just soooo unlikeable. Well, she's supposed to be a FAILED Scrooge – which means she was visited by the three ghosts of Christmas, and refused to head their warnings – so naturally she would be unlikable. I get that. But I just couldn't get on board with her at all! I didn't care that she'd been yanked from her life at an unbearable young age, I couldn't care less about her dingy little apartment, and I really really REALLY hated how she treated the other people she worked with. Given that it was a Scrooge story though, I kept going. Also, yes – Holly has had to deal with the loss of her mother, which royally sucks no matter how rich and pampered you are. She didn't deal well, because none of the adults in her life dealt well. It definitely contributed to her being the way that she is, BUT...we all have choices, and we can't blame other people for the choices we make ourselves.Ethan, this year's chosen Scrooge of Project Scrooge, had me scratching my head. Because yes, while he's cold and kind of jaded for a seventeen year old, he's not...THAT...bad. I kept expecting him to do something truly despicable but it never really happened.The modern twist on the Christmas Carol story was really fun and original. I loved it. It kept me reading even when Holly had me pulling my hair out. Also, her ex-best friend, Ro, kept me reading because I was so hopeful that somehow, someway, beyond the grave, they would reconcile.“He said, ‘Without stories, we're all just lonely islands.'...Stories let us see and hear and feel what someone else does,” she explained. “They build bridges to the other islands. That's why stories are so important. They create true empathy.”Yes. YES. This is why we read. This is why we read stories about people outside of our own little bubble, it's why we read stories written by people who are different than us. We read to relate as well as escape. Ro, girl, we need to be friends.I was not okay with the way Holly manipulated everything to suit her own feelings and desires up to the very end. I mean...had she not learned ANYTHING from death? Apparently not. She literally put her feelings and desires and emotions ahead of everyone and everything else. BUT THEN.The entire trajectory of the story changes in the last few chapters. It was so unexpected and the ending was SO DAMN REFRESHING I could have cried. It was so, so much better than I was even hoping. It added a half star onto my rating for this book, because it dared to be different and it actually resolved so much.4/4 stars, definitely recommend especially if you like the classic A Christmas Carol.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

Very interesting and seems well-researched, with copious footnotes and a good timeline. It's very much a history though, so don't pick it up expecting a run-down of the various theories of what happened to the Roanoke colony (what I originally thought when I bought it, only later reading the history part of the title).

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~First of all: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 IN THIS SERIES – you can read my review of Stalking Jack the Ripper if you don't want to be spoiled but are intrigued by this post. If you haven't read SJTR you are SO missing out, please go read right now. KTHXBAI.Hunting Prince Dracula was the PERFECT book to start off my HalloweenWR. The atmosphere is thick and foreboding and raise-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck creepy. Not for the faint of heart either, are the detailed descriptions of cadavers and dissection. I found them enormously cool and interesting but they might gross out some people. The Victorian trappings are lovely as well – all the fancy dresses and clothes, and rules (which Audrey and Thomas are only too delighted to break), and THIS CASTLE OMG. I want to live in a castle. Or even just near a castle. And a forensics school, IN Dracula's castle...where do I sign up?? I would need some heat though. That forest in those mountains and in a stone castle...pretty sure my fingers and toes would drop off. That said, I would totally plan an entire vacation (how about a month, shall we?) around visiting Dracula's castle and the area surrounding.Audrey Rose and Thomas are just as adorable in this book as in the last. I didn't QUITE understand why they danced around their attraction to each other SO MUCH in the first part of the book...it kind of felt like Audrey had regressed in her Victorian prudishness...but maybe I'm remembering things from the first book wrong. I know they had only kissed like...once, I think? Thomas is just as abrasive and unaware of societal rules as ever, only now he is SO concerned about Aubrey that he makes some well-meaning but nearly unforgivable blunders. The tension is veeeeeeery drawn out through the book but I thought it was cute and sweet.We also get to meet Daciana, Thomas's sister in this book, and she is a very exciting addition to the cast. She is spunky and hilarious and completely unafraid of all the Victorian rules – she does what she thinks is right and what will make her and those she loves happy. I hope we get to see more of her but from the ending of this book I think she gets left behind for the next. Boo.Okay, so the plot. Obviously, SOMEONE is leaving bodies around...someone who seems strangely obsessed with the bloodline of Dracula (the real one, not the Bram Stoker one). Naturally, Audrey Rose and Thomas have to investigate. Because the real authorities, also naturally, are bumbling around doing not much of anything. Things escalate, more people go missing, they discover SO MANY SECRETS in the castle (ahem – secret passages and tunnels – WHEN CAN I LIVE IN A PLACE WITH SECRET TUNNELS?), and no one is who they seem to be or who they are supposed to be. It's deliciously creepy and just when you thought you knew who you could trust...I will admit, I didn't see that ending coming. I had a sneaking suspicious that THAT person had something to do with it, but then once a certain OTHER event occured...you know, it's really hard to review mystery books, because of the risk of giving something away. But the ending was TOTALLY creepy and TOTALLY worth it.Do I even need to discuss the setting? *points at pictures above * It was beautiful and I am insanely jealous of anyone who gets to so much as VISIT a place like that, let alone live there. Even in a time without heat. 😛5/5 stars. I am so put out that we have to wait ANOTHER ENTIRE YEAR for Book 3!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+———OMG HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR THE NEXT ONE?!??RTC!———And we have a title!! squee

I loved the blurb for this book, and almost ordered it instantly...but I decided to be good and wait, and then I saw it at my library! Of course I picked it up...and I was shocked by how small it was. “How does anyone fit a retelling of P&P in a book this size?” I thought...but I gave it a try anyway. The answer is...eh...they don't. Or at least not very well. Seriously...where's the rest of it?Yes, it read just as rushed as I expected. The characters are flat and not very interesting. Darcy (female type here, remember) is done better than any of the rest. Even Luke, her “Lizzy,” who is supposed to be this amazing artisan who creates fantastic wood furniture...which is mentioned like twice...and then forgotten all about. At the end he even randomly picks up a new career (WTF?). The writing is boring. The adults feel like teenagers. The plot of P&P is condensed from well over a year down to less than 2 weeks. Uggggh.However, I did really like the Darcy/Bingley combination going on here. I loved that they totally stepped outside the expected m/f relationships there. Bingley was just adorable (if somewhat stereotypical in his own way). He is what saves this from being a 2-star read. If you know P&P, there are no surprises here. Which is fine! However, I felt like the stakes were not as high as in the original, or even as in a better retelling - which, by the way, would be [b:Eligible 25852870 Eligible (The Austen Project, #4) Curtis Sittenfeld https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460477855s/25852870.jpg 26428236] by Curtis Sittenfeld - and besides all the lackluster writing, that just made it very bland and overall disappointing. Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

EEEEEK!! A title, a title!! But why is this listed as an audio CD first? :(

Let's just say that while I thought it a bit cheesy/contrived at first, I might have read more. However, if you're having your characters walk into a space with an at least two day old dead body and it takes them 10 minutes to notice anything out of the ordinary in that room, you're doin' it wrong. Dead bodies STINK. Sorry, but that totally ruined this book for me. If you can overlook such details, you'll probably enjoy it as a cute cozy mystery.

~Follow all my reviews on my blog, The Bent Bookworm!~ You Asked for Perfect absolutely gutted me. Shattered my heart. All the feels.I was not expecting this. In fact, I put off reading this book for a LONG time, because I was so much less excited about it than about Girl Out of Water, Laura Silverman's first book (which is, um, apparently one of those books I meant to write a review for and never got around to...oops). However, since I'm trying to be a good little reviewer – and also, hello, academic stress, I can relate – I picked it up last week.Ariel Stone is the classic, driven, overachiever student. Except he's Jewish and bisexual. Also, he's waaaaaaay stressed out, and despite the 10+ year age difference I can so relate.I used to like studying. That burst of satisfaction when new material clicks. The competitive gratification of finishing a test first, knowing you got everything right.YES! So true! But then there is the pressure we type-A people like to put on ourselves...and the expectations of our family/teachers/friends...and next thing you know, studying is about as fun as plucking your leg hair out with tweezers.If I stay any longer, he'll see what's happening. He'll see I don't understand. I'm not smart enough. I'm an imposter. If I'm going to lose everything I've worked for, at least I don't have to do it in front of an audience.I really just wanted to wrap Ariel up in a big hug. Like, this kid put so much stress on himself, and he cares so much about his family – and, oh, let's not forget Amir, because Amir is cool on his own and he and Ariel together is just adorable. Oh, and his FAMILY! Actually, both of their families...why did I not have relationships like this as a teenager? They are supportive – academically and emotionally. The sibling banter is fun and believable. I liked that the story included Ariel's little sister Rachel, and showed just HOW YOUNG the academic pressure can and does start. It broke my heart, not just Rachel, but Ariel, and Isaac (another young savant that is a secondary character but also struggling).“If it's not important to you, why do you tell everyone I'm applying there? It's all you guys talk about. Like it's the only worthwhile thing about me.” My voice begins to shake. “If I don't get in, that's it. I'll be Ariel, the one who didn't get into Harvard. I'll let everyone down. I'll let you guys down. And I might not get in. I really might not, because I'm not perfect. They asked for perfect, and I'm not.”Ariel really grows so much through this story, even though it takes place over only a few weeks. He realizes a lot of his pressure is internal, and he realizes that sometimes...people are more important than academics. Basically he came to the realization that I wish I had, years and years ago. Realizing that sometimes, a couple of extra points on a test aren't worth missing quality time with family and friends. Oh, and he also got a cute boyfriend out of it, which is always a plus. 😉5/5 stars. Go buy it, go read it, go hug it.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram

What's this? A re-read? What is the world coming to?!?My husband bought this book for me a couple of years ago. I read it then, and gave it 3 stars. I was just really “eh” about the whole concept and all the people and relationships. I've recently heard people raving about Elin Hilderbrand though, and I thought well...maybe I missed something? I wasn't in a great head-space at the time I read it, so maybe it was me and not the book. I also have some vague recollection of thinking it was a standalone and when I got to the end it clearly wasn't and I was put out. Now, there are three more books in this series and after reading this again I'm very eager to get to them! Not sure if I'll make it this season or if they will have to wait until next year. I do love having a FINISHED series to binge.Winter Street is the story of a multi-layered family that is falling apart at the seams. Despite all that, there are enough threads of happiness woven throughout to keep one reading AND to make one hope that maybe after all, everything will work out for the Quinns.This being the first in a series of four, there is a lot of ground level introductory work going on. The cast is large and varied, and I was quite impressed that Hilderbrand managed to make everyone different enough to keep them straight. The story too, seems to be quite complex, as there's not only the many different romantic relationships going on (and ending), but the whole plotline with the inn as well! Some reviewers have complained about the sheer amount of drama in this book – and yes, there is that. A lot of it. But coming from a family that loves to infuse the holidays with as much drama as humanly possible, it really struck a nerve and I thoroughly enjoyed the telling.If you are looking for a happily ever after, this probably isn't it. At least not in this particular book – I'm personally holding out hope that maybe there will be a HEA for everyone in the end of the series! But this story appeals, I think, to a large audience – both people from the Quinn kids' generation (late 20s-30s) and those of their parents'. Life and love doesn't end when the kids grow up! Yay! Maybe I'm getting old myself, but I love stories like that. Life is also never simple, never cut and dry and easy...at least not in my experience, and this story illustrates that SO well. Life is messy. But it can still be beautiful.4/5 stars.1.5/5 flames, because while there isn't MUCH going on in the way of sex and making out, etc., what there was was cute and sweet and I wanted there to be more, particularly between certain characters!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~

Feels: Just...awwwww. Lots and lots of awwww moments. Between the besties Kirby and Clancy to the awkward anxiety of a new crush, there was just so many times I got a case of the warm fuzzies. Also, Kirby's grandfather. My heart hurt for him, and for Kirby and her family. I remember my great-grandmother as dementia set in for her, and it was absolutely heart breaking. It's difficult sometimes as a teenager or young adult to see our loved ones growing older when we feel like we're just starting out in life.

Characters: I love Kirby. She is unapologetically (though sometimes embarrassed) nerdy and unfashionable, and I wish I had her self confidence. Her quirky family, complete with unaffectionate mother and absentee father, is endearing even while they exasperate Kirby. Clancy is just hilarious and unpredictable (except to Kirby, who knows him better than he knows himself, it seems) and I loved how he repeatedly scandalized their small town with his antics.

There is a lot of minority representation in this book. That was probably my favorite part, besides the general Australian-ness (is that a word?) of it, which had me chuckling over slang I didn't quite understand. Kirby is gay, while Clancy and Iris are both minorities. I was a little sad that the book glossed over Iris's mental health issues, but I guess you can only do so much in a relatively short book.

Plot: So, this is where I felt the story was a bit weak. The plot line just sort of dragged while it skipped around somewhat and left me a little bit confused about what was going on in places (though maybe if I had paid a little more attention to the dates at the top of some of the chapters, that would have helped). There are a couple of side plots that were interesting but then turned out to not be so interesting or they were just finished off so quickly it felt a bit disjointed. Then at the end it felt like the author realized something exciting needed to happen and threw that little disaster in the works to shake everything up. Which it did, but it didn't have enough time to resolve, in my opinion.

Oh! How could I forget.

STANLEY! You should definitely read the book just for Stanley. Because everyone, apparently, needs a pet goat.

Overal, 3.5 stars. 1 flame because there are a couple slightly sexy scenes but nothing over the top or that I felt would be inappropriate for a young teen reader.

DNF. Predictable and boring.

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~“No wonder men did not want women to wear bloomers. What could women accomplish if they did not have to continually mind their skirts, keep them from dragging in the mud or getting trampled on the steps of an omnibus? If they had pockets! With pockets, women could conquer the world!”This was a fabulous book to start out 2018! It was just the right parts dry, sarcastic humor, witty remarks, and references to the classics mixed with strong female characters. My inner book nerd did so many happy dances. I absolutely LOVED the characters and ideas pulled from the classics (Frankenstein, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and I think maybe another that I'm missing). However, the reader does not have to have read those classics to enjoy this book. The characters are entirely fleshed out in this book alone. They have their own stories and the style of writing is completely entertaining. It starts out written in 3rd person, but within just a couple of pages it shifts – brilliantly – to a sidebar commentary of the various characters interjecting while the narrator is writing! It sounds complicated but it is amazing and brilliant and I laughed out loud so many times.Based around the idea of a secret scientific society at the end of the 19th century, the story starts out with the main character, Mary Jekyll, burying her mother and in desperate financial straits. Then through a series of unusual discoveries in her mother's papers, she stumbles across a strangest of characters – all of which seem linked to herself and her dead father in some way. Then they link up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and between their ever-growing little menagerie of misfits they attempt to solve the mystery of this strange society.There's no real romance – there are hints of it, and some of the characters have obviously had past relationships or relations, as they are referred to at one point. I admit that I'm really looking forward to the sequel, not only to see what exactly was going on with the Society but because I am dying to know if Mary actually ends up with Dr. Watson (as in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. Watson's eventual wife was named Mary), or not! I feel like it will be a NOT but I just need to know. :POverall, 5/5 stars and a fantastic start to my reading year 2018! Highly recommend to YA readers who are fans of historical fiction in general, but especially classic literature.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

I want to read this SOLELY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO MEAN SPIRITED about it already. Like, wtf? Are you that petty and hateful, or are you just bored and trolling? Either way...keep on haters...you're only garnering it more attention. The fear of ideas and differences will keep you small while the rest of the world soars.

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~SPOILER ALERT for the first two books of the series! You have been warned...The Fallen Kingdom picks back up exactly where [b:The Vanishing Throne 26797462 The Vanishing Throne (The Falconer, #2) Elizabeth May https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444805811s/26797462.jpg 27473756] left off – at least in Aileana's mind. In reality quite a bit has happened and I was super confused for a few chapters. This would be a negative EXCEPT Aileana is just as confused as the hapless reader and so it's perfect. She slowly pieces together what happened to her and everyone else and while she's just as much a badass as ever (and still feels the need to remind us of that now and again), she is not as in control as she seemed before, despite having all the unnatural powers of the fae. Aileana is human, and humans imbued with fae powers...well, it's not working out so well for her.Kiaran...um. Well. Kiaran is just as dark and broody as ever. His day/night personality was more in evidence here, and it was more disconcerting than ever before. However...he still wasn't as dark as I was expecting. Good thing...I guess? He's the Unseelie King, he's supposed to be evil and dark and twisted...and he was, but we don't really see that directly. Also when Kam actually gets to him it was a little anticlimactic because he really didn't seem all that different. The end though...be. still. my. bleeding. heart.Aithinne as queen of the Seelie fae is just as amazing, hysterical, and badass as ever. I still adore her. I still want her to be my best friend.She still has the best lines in the book but I unfortunately can't quote any of them because my ePub file expired and my copy of the book hasn't arrived yet. Bad book blogger.I LOVED the way the legend of the Morrigan and her sister was woven into the story. I definitely need to brush up on my Scottish mythology/folklore, because I'm fairly certain I was missing some subtle nuances but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.As you can see, I had a few issues with the story, as characters weren't quite what I expected or weren't as developed as I hoped...but Elizabeth May managed to write such an amazing story with characters I was SO committed to, and also to not make it a happily-ever-after fairy tale. It has aspects of it, but...it's not entirely, and that was part of what made me rate it 5 stars.I can't wait to see what Ms. May writes next! She's definitely on my auto-buy list. Personally, I would love to see a book (or two or three) with Aithinne as the main character. Hint, hint, Ms. May. ;) Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+————This book took all the good things from the previous 2 books and left out all the things I didn't enjoy so much. Phenomenal ending to the trilogy. Broke my heart. But so much love!! Full review closer to release date. ————OMG I was just approved for a review copy of this and I'm just -

~Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!~

I am so excited to be on the Taming Demons for Beginners tour! First of all, yes, I did receive an electronic copy of this book for the tour. BUT, I had already bought copies – yes, plural, the ebook and the paperback – for myself and read it before ever even seeing the signup for the tour. So I feel like I have a pretty unbiased – okay, maybe a fangirl – opinion.

I really wanted to love this book, but the writing style rubbed me wrong and the characters seemed very...blah. Not decided yet if I'll read the rest of the series or not. I kind of want to know what happens, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure I already know and it wasn't an enjoyable enough read to make me sure I want to spend time finding out what I already know. Meh.

~This review first appeared here on The Bent Bookworm!~I've been trying to write a review of The Hate U Give for weeks and weeks now. It's difficult to put my thoughts about it into a cohesive form, so I'm just kind of going to put a few things out there. Also, I'm aware that this book is HUGE because of it's subject matter and representation. I read it BECAUSE of that, because I know that I am in the majority and I want to understand what the minority goes through and feels. I realize a book will never give me a complete understanding, but I do think reading #ownvoices books can help. The entire point of reading is to learn and to travel and experience things in our mind that we can't or don't have the opportunity to experience in our place in the world.THUG is an important book because it so thoroughly places the reader into another person's shoes. Because it was written by someone who has been there. She didn't have to do research to see how Starr and her friends and family would talk – she knew, because her family is Starr's family, her town is Starr's town. This isn't someone from the outside looking in and writing about it, this is someone writing what they have seen right in front of them.Read The Hate U Give to see the world outside your comfort zone. Read it to understand why people have and do react the way they do to words, implications, and events. READ. IT.The truth casts a shadow over the kitchen—people like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right. Maybe.The Great: - Angie Carter does a fabulous job of giving her characters unique voices. I could hear each character distinctly and it was amazing. I felt like I was following Starr around, eavesdropping.- I was completely immersed in the story. When the pivotal point of the story, the shooting, happened, I felt like I'd been sucker-punched. I felt sick. I had to put the book down and go compose myself. At first I tried reminding myself that it was just a book, but of course that didn't work because OH YEAH STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS PRETTY OFTEN and IN OUR WORLD and...yeah.- This book helped me understand a lot of things. It helped me see a lot of things for the first time. Every town I've ever lived in (except in Korea, heh) had two sides and I never completely understood why it was that way, when segregation was a thing of the past decades ago...supposedly. Starr's struggle to be more, her struggle with her feelings for Chris, and to bridge what seems to her (and to the reader) to be the two sides of her life, encapsulated everything I've ever been confused about or wondered why when it came to those two sides of town.- FAMILY. I freaking love Starr's family. Her parents' relationship isn't perfect but it's there. Her entire family – her blended family, there are step and half brothers and sisters in there too – is there for each other. They pull together. They may picker and fight but in the end they are there and it's amazing.The Other Thing:I, personally, was really disturbed by the wrecking of the town and the looting/destroying of property that went on during some parts of the book (mirroring, obviously, a lot of actual events as well). HOWEVER. What really came home to me was that while no, I didn't agree with the characters doing it, I finally understood to some extent why. I understood that it was a form of expressing how angry and scared Starr and her friends and neighbors were, of the injustice and prejudice that seem to meet them at every turn. Did that make it right? No. Starr even says so later. But I finally had some sense of why things like that happen.Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

~Full review on The Bent Bookworm!~I was really hoping for a book to get me both out of reading funk and into the holiday spirit, but sadly this was not the book for the job. Maybe I'm just not the demographic for it (I requested a review copy thinking it was about a woman in her 20s, and while Sam's age is never given exactly I'm guessing she's mid-40s), age-wise or lifestyle wise. I'm only rating it this high because, despite my multiple eye-roll moments, the writing style was actually decent and flowed well – which goes a long way in a book. Piss poor writing (or editing) will make me fling a book across the room long before a shaky plot. Also, this was the 3rd in a series, but it was definitely readable and completely understandable (maybe not relatable) even without having read the other two books. So props for that.The Feels: I was mostly just annoyed. About the only characters I felt real empathy for was Sam's teenage (19? 21? I was never completely sure) son and her 16 year old stepdaughter. No one else was horrible, I just...felt nothing. The storyline was SO unrealistic, at least from my point of view, that at one point I thought my eyeballs would fall out of socket from all the rolling. It definitely didn't give me the warm fuzzy I was hoping for.The Characters: See above.The Plot: Way, WAY too churchy and preachy for me. In the first 20 pages I had been lectured about how alcohol is bad – BAD! – and drugs are next to hell (my words, not the author's).I understand alcoholism is a real issue for some people...but geez louise, does it really need to be a plot point? The actual plot is about Sam getting married (yay! I love happy endings) but since Sam was generally just annoying me with her helicopter mom syndrome...yeah. Take your white poinsettias and shove them. I feel like I'm too old to be THIS annoyed by that aspect of her character but...yeah. I am.The Description/Worldbuilding: Not bad, but not stellar. Nothing to write home about.The Rating: 3 stars overall. I actually used the breakdown of the rating functionality this time! Because I really felt like...this author could do better. As in she is capable of writing a better story. I didn't LIKE this one, but it wasn't her writing style that put me off, it was the subject matter and content.Many thanks to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer for getting me a review e-book!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram

squee I can't waaaaait!!

~Full review on The Bent Bookworm!~[b:Of Flame and Light 31428827 Of Flame and Light (Weird Girls, #7) Cecy Robson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471902219s/31428827.jpg 52122702]is fast-paced, hilarious, and full of super-sexy men and women intent on screwing the living daylights out of each other. 4/5 FLAMES (not stars, FLAMES). I really think this is one of those books that, while you CAN read it as a stand-alone and enjoy it, I would definitely have understood more and enjoyed it more if I had been following along through the entire Weird Girls series. So while I was somewhat confused at points, there's enough explanation to get a who's-who and a general idea of the supernatural creatures and world. I definitely plan to start at the beginning and read through at some point. Actually vaguely considering obtaining the other 6 and binge-reading on a weekend...this was a terrific feel-good book and I could use some more.The plot never stagnates and I was CERTAINLY never bored. This was the main part where I felt like I was missing things, as this book focused on the werewolves and witches and only briefly mentioned the vampires (which seem to have played a bigger part in previous books). Of course Taran's strange limb and the new magic fusing with her old starts the story off, but it's soon overtaken by the bigger, overarching problem of a dark, wicked power rising. I liked the conflict between the weres and the witches, but I wish I understood it a little better. I'm guessing the zombies were new to this series?Taran is a hilarious narrator. Her descriptions of her attempts at “training” with the witches had me snickering as I read. Other than that, honestly...she was pretty bitchy. I wasn't super fond of her and found her kind of hard to relate to...her strange powers, those I could imagine. But her perfect (except for the arm, which is basically a crazy prosthetic she can't take off) body, her constant tight dresses and platform heels...THAT I didn't get. Same goes for her sisters, who all seem to have perky boobs, tiny waists, flat stomachs...yadda yadda. Also, there are SO MANY strapping, hot werewolf men in this book...holy bejeezus, I felt like I was constantly fanning myself! Gemini, Koda, Aric, Bren...phew. She definitely has the sex appeal of werewolves on point.

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~Molly is a mess. A shy, self-conscious, boy-obsessed mess. She's seventeen, has never had a boyfriend or even kissed a boy, and she hates it. She has had twenty-six crushes, none of which panned out for her. She thinks and worries (and people often comment along the same lines) that she is fat, too fat to be attractive to any boys.First of all – geez louise! I know I was definitely more relationship and (in my case) boy obsessed when I was sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old than I am now or have ever been since, but DEAR GOD ALMIGHTY it is literally all this girl thinks about. She has a couple of other interests, but appears to have never given even a slight thought to what she wants to do with those interests after high school. College is mentioned, but only as an annoyance, because of adults asking what colleges she has applied to. Goals? What are goals? It seems so odd to have little to no interest in one's future. I also remember that four years felt like an eternity at seventeen, or even at twenty-two. So I get some of that – but not all. Molly just seems so extremely focused on boys, their attractiveness, their potential to be boyfriend or hookup material...it seems excessive and concerned me. If she was a friend of mine I would be staging an intervention, not trying to goad her on or set her up with whatever eligible guy I could find.That said, of course most people want to be a relationship of some kind, with another person or people. There are many different kinds of relationships – MANY of which are modeled in this book, hurray! Everyone deserves to be happy and to be loved. However, I think it's very unhealthy to look to a relationship for one's happiness. Another person can never make you happy if you are unhappy with yourself – as Molly definitely seems to be, despite her moms and other friends constantly trying to build up her self worth. However, Molly tends to be very selfish and focused inward, only looking at situations from the point of view of how they effect HER.Molly especially struggles with her twin sister's new relationship. She becomes jealous of Cassie's girlfriend and all the time they spend together. Just like we have all had the friend who started dating someone new and fell off the face of the earth. Eventually she does realize that this is a season, and that things will change throughout their lives, and she comes more to terms with her sister having a life separate from her.We might see each other every day. We might see each other once a year. Maybe it will ebb and flow and change with the decades. Maybe we'll never pin it down. I think every relationship is actually a million relationships.^Best quote of the book, there. Not that Cassie is an angel, by any means. While Molly clearly adores her twin, Cassie also takes advantage of her in a lot of ways and is rather insensitive to her feelings.GOOD STUFF:Lots, and lots of diverse representation – LOTS! Molly has two moms, one of which is bisexual, there are gay, lesbian, and pansexual characters, as well as people of all different ethnic backgrounds. It made my heart happy.Mental health treatment - Molly takes medication for her mental health. It's not made a big deal of, it is just NORMAL, and I think that is so important.Excellent writing – the style was entertaining and easy to read. I read this in less than 3 hours, not counting breaks. Will definitely pick up another of Albertalli's books.I just could not get on board with Molly, even while I did understand that some of what seemed to be selfishness was really anxiety. Anxiety can sometimes makes people appear to be selfish when really what they're worried about is taking care of someone, or worried they will offend or hurt someone. I felt bad for her, but I was horrified by the implications of the conclusion, even if it was sweet and made me say “Awwwww!” for a few seconds. The content and conclusion are what really made me lower my rating, the writing itself was quite excellent. So, I'll give the author another try and see.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+——————–Preordered! Ebook, because I'll be in the process of moving when this comes out.

~Review first appeared on The Bent Bookworm!~“Truth is a blade. Brutal and ice cold. It cuts. Sometimes when spoken carelessly it even scars.”Escaping from Houdini (Book #3 in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series) was one of my most anticipated books of the entire year. I absolutely adored the first two – which, if you haven't read and have the slightest interest in doing so STOP READING because there will be spoilers for those two books – and so I was delighted to find out that the original planned trilogy was being expanded to four. Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell...I can't get enough of them, or the deliciously creepy situations their forensic passion leads them into! That said, I have to admit this book was my least favorite of the series so far.^Sorry, this is what I was thinking of through the first few chapters.I really do hate to say it, but in some ways it feels completely unnecessary...like why spend an entire book on the trans-oceanic voyage from Europe to America? I understand it makes for a really creepy atmostphere, when people are being MURDERED and you know for absolutely certain they are on the ship with you and no way to get off of it in the middle of the ocean...but still. Anyway, maybe that's just me, and I'm butt-hurt because I was really looking forward to seeing what they did in America and also seeing how the series ended.//SMALL POTENTIAL SPOILERS for character-type stuff, not plot//My PeopleOther than the maybe-not-necessary part of my feelings on the book...OMG WADSWORTH. What happened?!? Where did the stalwart, strong-minded girl I knew go? What...just what. Here, maybe a screenshot of my actual agony as I read will help:Not only was she suddenly needing smelling salts, but the way she treated Thomas...I really struggle to accept that it was justified. In the grand scheme of things, I understand why she did it. She put trying to find the killer and figure out what was going on ahead of her own feelings, but in the process I really feel she treated Thomas as if he was just an automaton without any kind of emotion. It felt like a kick to the stomach. And, as we all remember (riiiiight, you did read the other books), for all his cold, calculating, analytical brain cells, our boy does actually have a heart a few fibers of insecurity running through it. Now, in an author note at the end, Kerri Maniscalco actually addresses this entire issue, and WHY Wadsworth acted the way she did. I get it. I'm just not completely on board with it and I feel like it quite possibly forever altered her relationship with Thomas. Can relationships recover from setbacks? Absolutely. Do they? Sometimes. So I guess we will just have to wait and see in book four...HOW am I going to wait another year??Plot“This isn't the first time you've removed a cravat, is it?”“It would be the first time I used it to strangle someone, though.”The mystery aspect of this one wasn't as hair-raising as either one of the other two books. Enjoyable, yes, and I didn't have a very good theory until about 65-75% of the way through the book (perhaps because I was so hung up over Wadsworth and Cresswell's woes). It was very flashy and atmospheric but not all that exciting. After the first couple of bodies you kinda/sorta knew what to expect.The “show” aspect was interesting and really gave a different flavor to the setting than you would expect from a ship. It was very circus-y and all the minor characters introduced created ALL kinds of red herrings and hangups.Things That Did Surprise Me“Be cautious with who you give your heart to. And be even more wary of those who wish to steal it.”First, totally did not see the cousin thing coming. That was intriguing and really added another layer to the story. Next, do not go into this expecting Houdini to play a large part. The title is somewhat misleading. Third, WHO THE HELL is this circus master dude and WTF is he playing at (this question is mostly answered by the end but geez I hated this guy's guts for most of the book). Fourth, I still adore Mrs. Harvey. I don't think I mentioned her in my other reviews, but she is just the absolute BEST with her “nightcaps” and look-the-other way style of chaperoning.Overall, I'm giving Escaping from Houdini 3.5 stars. I really wanted to give it 4 but it just bummed me out too much, between the “meh” mystery factor and the “ACK!!” relationship factor.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+______________Omg my heart. _____________OMG LOOK AT THAT COVER. Freakin' killing me here. <3

She would not run if he offered her his body; she would if he offered his heart.

Well, wasn't this a romp! I confess I was a little disappointed in the tamer nature of Gail Carriger's last completed series, the Finishing School books – but as they were for a YA audience I understood it and thought she handled the romance aspects of that series with aplomb. This little piece brought back all the spice and sizzle of Soulless, with an intriguing flair for readers of the Finishing School series, as we're already acquainted with the main character! This is quite a different look at Preshea, as you might expect. Not a book for the middle-school readers, ou-la-la. You d0n't, however, have to have read any of the prior books to enjoy this one.

Poison or Protect is a novella, so the plot, while there, isn't terribly exciting, and after all it's a romance, straight-up. In fact, this might qualify for the “bodice-ripper” category of one of my reading challenges this year...not my usual cup of tea at all, but this is Gail we're talking about. The prose is what I've come to expect from her – by turns sharp, witty, heart-melting, and hysterical.

“He smells like Christmas – fresh pine boughs and spices. What right has a man to smell so good?”

Preshea, unflappable though she might be, was flapped.

Imprudence

~Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!~

The Rogue King was EXACTLY what I needed during the last few VERY. STRESSFUL. weeks of my organic chemistry class! It was an amazing book that was total candy for my mind (and that cover, candy for the eyes, for sure...even though I am as a rule opposed to the shirtless-man covers).

From what I gathered on GoodReads, most of the author's other books have been on the tame side of sexy...THIS ONE IS NOT and it was delicious. Definitely the kind to make your nether regions tingle, so be forewarned if you're not into that or go get it NOW if that's your thing! There is also a witty, dry sort of humor sprinkled throughout that I absolutely loved and had me chuckling out loud several times.

Kasia and Brand have total chemistry and Brand is hot AF. Also, there are dragons (I might be slightly obsessed) and I am sure the next books will have more! I feel like there will probably be four in this series, due to the fact that Kasia has three sisters...I sure hope so. I am definitely keeping my eyes open for the next installments.

4/5 stars. I took off a star for the plot. It's kind of predictable, but honestly if you are reading this for plot you're reading it for the wrong reasons.

Well, I just found another auto-buy author. This book destroyed me. It's amazing. EVERYONE needs to read it.
ETA: I loved it so much I ordered a copy and had it shipped to my parents just IN HOPES they will read it (they probably read 10 books a year put together). Full review to come!

The writing is beautiful. The world building is superb. And that alone is why I'm not rating this (usually a DNF gets a 1-star from me). I think I just am not in the mood for a slow-paced novel right now. I've been reading it for over a MONTH. This is unheard of. I whiz through books. I would pick it up, read a few pages, think about how I felt like I was walking down the road with Tea, or seeing the bezoars right in front of me...and put it down, with no real compulsion felt to pick it up again.

Sadness. Because it is BEAUTIFUL. I will return one day to finish and write a full review.
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Welp. My ARC expired before I finished this...which, considering I started it more than a month before the release date...says something.