Mandi
Minor spoilers ahead.
Three nights with a rock star simply isn't enough. I want ALL of the nights with Keaton “Lock” Shaw.
swoon
Three Nights with a Rock Star is a teensy bit like 50 Shades of Grey. But this is the book you wished 50 Shades was. Lock is the front man for a rock band. And he keeps contracts in his nightstand (more CDA and less kink allowances). When Hailey shows up at his hotel to ask for his help in finding the man who got her little sister pregnant, the last thing she expected was to end up bent over his couch. But she agreed to stay with him for 3 nights in exchange for his help.
And every hair pull, bite, and spank over those three nights left me wanting to spend more time in my fantasy where I was Hailey and in Lock's bed.
I think that the reason I like this book so much is that it plays out a fantasy that I've had over and over. What would I do if a total stranger – even if (especially if) he's a celebrity – asked me to share his bed? In the fantasy, I'd do exactly what Hailey did. I'd forget who I was for a few days and give myself over to wanton abandon. And then I would get under his skin so much that he'd fall head over heels in love with me.
Who doesn't fantasize about that?
What Shari and Amber did in this book is give us the fantasy we want without falling into the trap of talking down to the reader or devolving into gratuitous sex. And it absolutely left me wanting more.
I spent a good deal of time being angry at Tally and the author in this book. Her character and personality completely changed, and while I get that some of that was the point... part of the story was that Tally is able to rewire herself. But she never did end up the Tally we'd grown to love from the first two books.
When the World Was Flat (and We Were In Love) I really really dislike how this book ended.
And I mean really. And that means this review is going to have spoilers. When I rant, I spoil. Sorry!
This book had so much potential. The story, while not wholly unique, was refreshing when it seems that every other book out there is about vampires (while I don't dislike vampire stories, I do like other things thrown into the mix!).
But the execution? The execution was very poor.The love story portion of the book is similar to that of The Immortals series by Alyson Noel. It spans centuries and multiple lives. The Lillie that we know and love is not the first Lillie that Tom has fallen in love with.
It's also similar to Twilight (but then, what isn't these days?) in that Tom tries so very hard to stay away from Lillie. But they keep being drawn together. Even when he's rude to her. He's forced to save her life (not from an a van skidding on ice, but from a train that hits the car she's a passenger in when her friend decides to play chicken). Okay - so maybe he doesn't save her life so much as pummel the “friend” for putting her in danger.
And the entire book - after he shares the secret and they end up together - he spends it dedicated to not giving in to the call of the secret - to not taking life (I know that doesn't make sense - but I am trying not to be too spoilery here. Some people will think that this was a brilliant book).
But in the end? He makes the easy decision for love.
And they all lived happily ever after.
EXCEPT THEY SHOULDN'T.
I wanted to throw the book - except I was reading on my iPad, so I couldn't.
I was so angry at the way he chose the easy out after preaching against it the entire book. And for what? So he could have love?
I'm not even convinced he got love!
Think about it this way - who did Rose Tyler end up with? Did she end up the Doctor? She ended up with a Doctor yes - but not her Doctor. And the choice that Tom made at the end of the book ensured that Lillie ended up with a Tom - but not her Tom.
But that's not even the worst part! The worst part is that Tom didn't even have a guarantee that his choice would end up the way it did. It could have ended up as murder instead of suicide (because, let's be honest - that's what it was). And after spending the book swearing he wouldn't murder - to give in the way that he did, as quickly as he did, it just didn't make sense and it was too easy and was just a quick way to get to HEA.
And I didn't like it one bit.
Y'all. This book. THIS BOOK. It was the perfect thing to read after my ACOTAR hangover. It's an absolute ride from start to finish. It's got dragons, badass characters, and just enough angst to keep you turning pages way past your bedtime. The world-building is epic, the tension is real, and the romance? 🔥🔥🔥 Every twist had me gasping out loud. This book is a wild, emotional journey that sinks its talons into you and doesn't let go. 10/10 would recommend – it's the kind of fantasy you devour in one sitting and then immediately want to read again.
Rebecca Yarros absolutely delivered with Iron Flame. If you thought Fourth Wing was intense, buckle up, because this sequel takes everything up a notch. The stakes are higher, the twists hit harder, and the characters? Even more badass. It's the kind of sequel that keeps you on edge and makes you yell at the book (in a good way). Fast-paced, fierce, and downright addictive – If I wasn't obsessed before, I'm officially obsessed now.
Frankly, this book would have been a DNF if it hadn't been for David Tennant's narration.
All I can really say about this one is... it was perfect. It was the perfect way to end this trilogy.
I am currently having a love/hate relationship with these books because of the emotional reactions I have to them. The writing is absolutely fabulous, and the story continues to thrill me.
Christian and Ana are the perfect flawed couple. I adore reading about them and the dynamics of their relationship. What I would absolutely love is seeing inside Christian's head instead of only seeing him from Ana's perspective. But I'll take what I can get, and I look forward to the final installment.
I stayed up til 2 am reading this one. Then I dreamed about it. It still lingers with me this morning. James writes the internal monologue of a sub very well.
If you have an interest in kink/BDSM, this one will rock your socks right off. If you don't, it will make you develop an interest in kink/BDSM... and then it will rock your socks right off.
Curse of the Broomstaff My attention is starting to wane with this series.
That's disappointing because I was really looking forward to finding a really good Middle Grade series.
In this installment, Spencer has been reunited with his dad – but something is off. Spencer is frustrated and his attitude frequently shows. Daisy is more and more nonsensical. Rather than growing up, she seems to be regressing.
These kids are in elementary school – it's not quite time for the angsty teen years!
We got to take a trip to an enchanted landfill and finally meet the 13 Aurans. They were not what I expected. I don't like most of them.
The Rebel Janitors are really no closer to stopping the BEM than they were before this book. I just can't really see what the point of this book was – it didn't do a lot to further the story. Unless it was just needed to introduce a lot of characters. But that's kind of a waste of a whole book, if you ask me.
[email protected] This book had a lot of ups and downs, but overall I liked the story. I think it's a great story for any confused or curious teen to read.
The writing did leave a lot to be desired. It really frustrates me when authors choose to turn all of their teen characters into some fake caricature based on silly stereotypes. Teens do not all text like complete idiots (“can't w8 2 c u” etc), especially now that there is this thing in the world called a full qwerty keypad on most phones. It ends up leaving a bad taste in my mouth, and it makes me think the author is trying too hard to get into teen space to write her story.
A lot of the dialogue felt fake and forced, especially between Immy and Fickle. But the overall theme of the story is certainly one I can get behind. I am no stranger to falling in love over the internet, nor of having my heart broken in the very same manner. My heart was with Imogen when she was trying to figure out what to do with her boyfriend and this new online friend, and I felt just as betrayed as she did when she found out some not so nice things about her new friend.
In the end, I was happy with the way things turned out – though I'm not at all certain it's a realistic portrayal of this type of situation. But then again... don't we all want the fairy tale ending?
It took me a little while to get into it - I struggled with a main character who was constantly putting Buffy down and just hating her. But eventually, Nina grew on me and watching her begin to understand why Buffy made the choices she did was wonderful. I can't wait to read the next volume!
Not as good as the first one, but still good enough to keep me wondering what was coming next.
Formal review to come... but suffice it to say that this is the first book where I've ever thought “I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.”
AWESOME.
For Real completely blew my expectations out of the water. I knew that I had absolutely LOVED My Favorite Mistake but I just didn't expect to get that level of quality out of another romance. Yes, I'm a snob.
And, yes I was wrong.
Shannon is a virgin. And she's tired of her friends giving her crap about it. One night they push her too far and she snaps. (Seriously, they go way too far – how she managed to stay friends with those guys is beyond me). She meets Jett (well, re-meets – they'd briefly met once before) and goes home with him. Not to actually have sex with him – just so it looks like she did. But then Shannon and Jett take it one step further – they plan an entire fake relationship to get her friends off her back.
Fake Girlfriend? Meet Fake Boyfriend.
It's adorable.
They make up rules and everything (Rule #3 is no incidental contact unless they're in public where they're expected to be all over each other).
But it turns out... a fake relationship feels an awful lot like a real one. Especially when two people get along as well as Jett and Shannon do.
As the date of doom (the date they planned to “break up”) approaches... things get intense.
And it's just fabulous.
And honestly – it's not just Jett and Shannon that made me love this book! Javi and Hazel (the roommates, respectively) were interesting characters in their own right. Enough so that something tells me the next book might just be about those two.
For Real was honestly the best kind of book. It wasn't insta-love – we got to experience them fall in love as they did. It was sweet. It was beautiful. And it made me remember why I love to read about love.
Have you ever read a book that makes you go what the fuck for most of it? But then you keep reading anyway?
This is one of those books.
It was... odd. But not in a bad way. It was very different from everything I read. The closest thing I can compare it to is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - but honestly, it's nothing like that book. I think I feel a resemblance because they're both thrillers that have been translated into English. (I also never made it through Larsson's book - it was boring to me).
Max and Daniel had a fucked up childhood. They were twins raised separately and, as a result, are very very different adults. They really don't have much of a relationship, but when Max writes and asks to see Daniel while in a clinic of some sort, Daniel goes. He's a good soul.
He's a naive soul.
Max convinces him (tricks him) into switching places with him at the clinic (Daniel often wonders is this some sort of rehab clinic?) but promises to come back in a few days.
You know where this is going right? (If not, go read the summary again.)
I just didn't understand why Daniel never figured out the kind of place he was in or what kind of person his brother really was. All the signs were there. All the signs.
In the end, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late trying to figure out the secrets of the clinic and the town. I wanted to know if Daniel would get out and if Max would be caught. This is the kind of book where the ending is not at all predictable, and you don't see it coming until it happens.
I found this book to be quite a departure from other books I've read by Orson Scott Card. The general storyline was interesting, and I'm curious about what will happen in the next book, but the writing and some of the descriptions were really distracting. There were a lot of parts that were about sex or sexual things and really added nothing to character development or plot. They seemed odd and out of place - almost as if he were writing with a directive to “sex things up”. It was disappointing, to say the least.
I have issues with food. I don't talk about them often - or ever, really. But they lurk under the surface, and even when I'm working really really hard to overcome them and build healthy habits they can derail me. Today was one of those days. And today was the day I read about Colby.
I didn't expect her story to end up the way it did, but it didn't surprise me. I did spend a bit of time thinking that there's no way anyone's mom would ever treat their daughter the way Colby's mom treated her... but yes they do. And even without her mom as a motivating factor, everything else Colby was dealing with would have been enough to trigger the depression and self-loathing.
I have a mom who loves me very much and I still struggle (at 31) with self-loathing. There are times I self-medicate with food. There have been many days where I didn't want to be on this earth anymore because the pain I felt inside was so bad.
When I read Colby's story, I felt very connected to her.
At the end, the author reveals that she's struggled with binge eating and knows exactly what kinds of emotions can come with it.
Big Fat Disaster wasn't easy to read, but I'm glad I did. It was authentic, painful, yet still uplifting. Though I'll warn you - most of the characters are unlikable and have zero redeeming qualities.
If you - or someone you know - are having thoughts of self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
I was a little concerned as I read this because it felt like the same old story getting recycled (Twilight, Vampire Diaries), but I'm glad it ended up being a little different.
Have you ever read a book that seems good on the surface, but the more you think about it the more you dislike it? This is one of those books for me. I remember that I liked it when I read it (my original rating on Goodreads was a 4), but I can't remember why I liked it. The things that had a lasting impression with me are the things that I didn't like so much (insta-love, crazy conspiracies, abusive relationships, and mean girls just to start).
Poor Little Dead Girls had a fair amount of creep factor in it. At first glance, it's about your run of the mill secret society at a prestigious boarding school. Think Skull & Bones. The kidnapping that Sadie goes through doesn't seem so weird when you partner it with a little bit of hazing and the thrill of a secret society.
But then things do get a little weird.
Sadie realizes her mother - who committed suicide - also went to Keating and was a part of this group. And another girl recently disappeared. Sadie begins to wonder if the group could have had anything to do with those events and begins to snoop. But then she learns the real intent behind the society - and I won't spoil that for you here. She decides the group needs to be stopped and does everything in her power to do so.
And in the end, most things are tied up in a neat little bow. But there is one plot point that really bothers me. The group took something from Sadie - something important - and she didn't get it back. The police told her to assume it got destroyed. And then... everything was back to normal.
If it were me, I would NOT be okay with that assumption.
Of course, I suppose this dangling end leaves open the possibility of a sequel one day. A sequel that I won't read.
Rick Riordan has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I believe I like the Kane Chronicles more than I like his Heroes of Olympus/Percy Jackson books.
