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This is such an easy fast read. I could not put this down. Everything I did was one handed because I had this book with me until I was done.
It's been almost a week since finishing Punk 57 and I'm still thinking about it, and Misha. Protect him at all costs.
I'm making a pact with myself. If I come across a book where a main-ish character has a ridiculous name then I'll stop reading. I can't do it anymore. Also, if a main female character tolerates a man's possessive or abusive nature because he's hot or rich I'm abandoning ship on that too. It's not sexy or endearing, it's terrifying.
After reading all 3 books in this series I full on don't like the turn it took. The whole forbidden romance aspect was super, but it did not go the way it should have. I wish I had stopped reading and left this as a cliffhanger. I would have felt better filling in my own blanks.
I might need to buy physical copies of this trilogy.
I'm also gonna need the authors to write those stand-alone stories with other characters. Pretty please.
I got to the end of chapter 8 and couldn't get any further.
It takes more than 2 minutes for people to get off. 99.9% of people can't orgasm just by pretty much looking at someone and stroking themselves for however much time can pass in the length of a page. If you're going to write detailed scenes there has to be a way to convey more time passing. This kind of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am style of sex happened multiple times, yet for the characters it was fully satisfying.
These characters are the kind of people on your Facebook newsfeed saying they love each other in comments everywhere after 2 weeks. Nauseatingly annoying and completely unbelievable.
"Your mouth is telling me no, but your body is telling me yes. Which one should I believe?"
Her mouth. Her MOUTH. HER MOUTH!
I get the feeling someone was a little too inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey for this. Abuse is never sexy.
I won a copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program.For me, this is the modern version of [b:He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys 10412 He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys Greg Behrendt https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388205020s/10412.jpg 822184]. While trying to get to know a guy and date we're dealing with Facebook, Twitter, Apps, dating sites, Skype, and texting. Always texting. So. Much. Texting!Lisa and Carrie started HeTexted.com, a site to receive peer advice to decode what a guy really means. Questioning if a guy actually likes you or is an incorrigible flirt looking for a hookup? Post a screenshot and others will weigh in. There's even a section to seek out more private advice from actual guys.So, that's what started this book, which is broken down into different things a guy can do to communicate in this digital age. Things like adding you on Facebook, ranting, sexting, emoji and emoticon usage, all the way to texting vs. saying “I love you” in person. Lisa, Carrie, and three “bros” weigh in throughout. There are also image examples of texting conversations pulled from the site.Now, lets get into what I personally thought. Me, being me, I took notes. I knew some things I was not going to agree with and other things would completely speak to me. I wanted to make sure I kept track. Hello yellow sticky notes. I also felt I probably wasn't necessarily the target demographic with this book. At the end of it all I realized no matter what you've got going on everyone's probably run into some of the scenarios being tackled here, and we've all for sure been confused about a love interest at some point.I got through the first chapter entitled He Friended and immediately asked this new guy I've been talking to for about a month if he only looked through my pictures or checked out other parts of my page. He'd only looked at my pics. Throughout the month I'd skimmed his wall, gone through his liked music pages, and even ended up on his sister's and mother's profiles. Ok, so the book has men and women pretty much pegged right so far.About half way through the book there's the He Updated chapter. This is probably the only chapter that actually irritated me. “Women are right to examine his Wall... Everything you need to know about a guy is right there on it.” NO! That's not true at all. Want to know why? Because I am not MY wall. Let me bury you under a mountain of salt you should be taking this chapter with. I know how to make lists on FB or change custom settings and hide things from entire groups of people, or just one. I loved the section about a guy's handle on FB. Um no I didn't. If his name isn't his real name and he's made up some crap just report it. Seriously. It's against the TOS on FB.And for the love of all that is holy, this book needs to stop referencing things like Star Wars or Harry Potter. It's painful because they don't really get it right. This fan does not appreciate it.A few pages later this book is redeemed for me. The last half is a bit more serious. There are little nuggets we all need to absorb and live by. I actually gave some succinct advice from Kenny in the E Txd chapter to my best friend, who happens to be a guy. Proof that some advice goes both ways. It works for everyone. He was confused about a girl being busy. Too busy to text. A BS excuse I've heard more times than I can count. Replace busy with neglectful and don't suffer through someone keeping you waiting for days on end.
This is what [b:ACOTAR 50659468 A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) Sarah J. Maas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620325671l/50659468.SY75.jpg 25126749]'s bat boys wish they could be.
Why did I read this? What am I doing? Taking a big ol' break from monster erotica, that's what.
I was almost tempted to never add this to a shelf because it's embarrassing. My own, and fremdschämen for the fact that this even exists. Reading this was like being unable to look away from a train derailing. I'm pretty sure there are less tropes and kinks NOT included. Everything under the sun was thrown in. And not always in a good way. There was a safe-word established that I can't recall ever being used. Little miss virgin-had-no-idea-how-sex-worked-or-had-ever-touched-herself was enthusiastically a-ok with EVERYTHING right off the bat. Mhmm sure. Whatever.
I never want to think about Santa sexually in any way shape or form ever again. I wish I could induce memory loss.
I was pretty into this until the minor blood play which I quickly read past while gagging. Hard pass. Get these characters a safe word too, because “tap my leg” isn't enough. I'm usually totally fine skipping trigger warnings because they give away the plot but this time they should be read imo.
I wholeheartedly do love this book. I've read it twice and was quite caught up in it both times. I recommend it. I'll be reading the sequel, of course. And perhaps perusing other works by Follett.
I feel the hidden influence of Follett's ability to write successful mystery or thriller novels added enhancing factors to this novel, while also possibly contributing the few defects. The style can be a bit too abrupt at times, mostly being revealed through somewhat lacking dialogue. All the same, the plot is propelled at a steady and interesting pace with clever twists and turns. We're able to follow many characters and actually understand their motivations, all while not necessarily agreeing with them. I commend Follett for that ability, and his masterful use of foreshadowing. Only on a second read did I see how subtle it was at times.
My only real complaints:
Did they use the words “puke” and “sexy” in that time?
I feel for whoever had to edit 973 pages, but did no one notice these spelling errors? There were only 4 or 5, so not bad for a book of about 400k words. Maybe next printing they'll be gone.
Right about on par with [b:Birthday Girl 39555142 Birthday Girl Penelope Douglas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523361696l/39555142.SY75.jpg 61165395].
I'm getting the impression the short story reviews are mixed in with the longer novel which seems to be bringing the average down for this. I managed to get my hands on the full length book and haven't read the short story.
3.5 because Serpents of the Abyss is a bit diamond in the rough. There's a gem in there for sure but more editing to smooth out the story probably would have bumped this up to an easy 4.5. You can definitely see where the author decided to go in a very different direction with the story which was a smidge jarring. I was all for the change and enjoyed it but didn't see it coming.
Even though this could use a little work I wanted to immediately jump into more from this world. Continuation books were promised in the end author's note but it looks like they haven't been written yet. I'm very much looking forward to those if Sanders decides to write them.
Cliffhanger warning. Definitely have the third book before finishing this one. Expected it and still gutted.
I like my monsters to look like monsters, but not like a tree. This is not at all what I picture when I think of a Leshy.
I HATE this. Cara is an idiot. Tov is a giant asshole. Merrik is just a pretty face half asshole half just along for the ride. My whole life is filled with misogynistic dicks so I certainly don't want them in my free time.
I love alien abduction romance or erotica books. That's rough, better make the best of it. But omg if someone told me I'd actually been abducted as a child and my name changed you'd best believe it would take me more than the 2.6 seconds to process and accept, if ever, that it takes Cara. Little miss can't even remember which direction she came through a door. You mix stupid and Stockholm syndrome and you get this girl.
When the author isn't info dumping to the point of confusion Tov is just bossing Cara around. Re-abducted off Earth, entire life upended, doesn't know a thing about the alien culture or customs she supposedly comes from. Does he seem to care about her or any of this at all? Nope! She's just expected to take her clothes off and follow every order. There's not even a hint of sweet gooey center to this jerk. Book boyfriends these men are not.
There's a scene where Tov and Merrik finish with Cara and Merrik puts her to bed while telling her they'll bring back food. Then they just leave her to cry. You want aftercare? You're not getting it in this book. You want communication, a shred of equality, or respect between characters? It's not here. I kept thinking of Merrik as a lump of a pretty face who's just barely there.
73% of the way in Tov struggles to understand why Cara hadn't realized that they love her and these dingdongs have the nerve to mention she didn't know how to use the mind link between them or understand it's significance. Of course she didn't understand because neither of you bother to talk to her and we're 3 quarters of the way through this shit! I'm just as surprised as she is that you love her because you sure don't act like it.
This is NOT how I like my BDSM erotica or romance. And I'm not even shelving this as romance because calling it that is a joke.
Nope. Can't finish this. DNF at 17%. I'm all for literary smut, but I want my poetry to be teasing and my erotica to be sultry, not in-your-face crass. I don't want to feel like a voyeur or 3rd wheel into Leav and Faudet's relationship (or whatever is going on there). Reading this was like sitting on a couch while your friends have sex next to you and occasionally you get a foot to the head. I just don't need the mental images.
Ok, 1: I've been traumatized.
And 2: Holy shit Author, who hurt you?! Just out here killing off more characters than George R.R. Martin.
I started [b:Snitch 18519239 Snitch (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #2) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391107546s/18519239.jpg 26218972] on Aug 25 and finally forced myself to finish on Oct 26. I devoured [b:Sketchy 16290044 Sketchy (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #1) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360988990s/16290044.jpg 23681623], the first book, in two days only because I had to sleep.The pacing is slow and the characters are completely unbelievable at times... most of the time. They don't speak or act normally. They did and said things, or things just happened that ended up being filler or drove the story in a way that made me cringe or roll my eyes quite often. There's a subtlety that's desperately needed and missing. Everything is clumsy or unrealistic. It tried to tackle some serious issues, but it's done in a way that provides little depth or connection for a reader.I kind of loved Bea in the first book. As soon as I started this second one I found myself thinking, “What the hell? This is NOT the Bea of book one.” She's turned into a bit of a dunce and is somehow not quite as cool. She's corny, tacky, gross, way over the top, and not true to her age. Bea, the bull in a china shop wrecking everything, jumping to conclusions, and refusing to listen for five freaking seconds.I jumped into book two wanting more Sergeant Daniels and Bea action. I love that a relationship would be taboo. He's adorable. Unfortunately the escalating tension and teasing was not written as well as it could have been. The choice of words did not evoke the right mental image. It didn't flow. It was the wrong kind of awkward and took attention away from these characters finally possibly coming together.I wish I were more excited for this series to continue.
Couldn't force myself to keep reading past a few chapters. The writing is terribly sophomoric. I couldn't believe how immature the characters are. This review sums up how I felt.