REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Published: January 10, 2012 Dutton Books 

Source: Goodreads









Thoughts: I don't really know where to start. I was explaining to a friend of mine that this book is filled with big improbable words for a 16 year old, yet I wasn't thrown off by it. Hazel was clearly smarter than me.

How do I explain how I feel without spoilers? A gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters. Couldn't have said it better myself really.

This is just one of those books that grabs you, holds you and imprints you. Many years from now it will be on your book shelf, worn and well used from the countless times you've thumbed through the pages over and over unable to shake the feeling of loss and strangely wholesomeness.

When you get to the ending, after you've sat there with the book closed on your lap, rethinking everything that just happened you can't help but to see an ending any other way. You knew that it was always going to end this way despite the early signs and statements saying this was not true but you had to keep hope alive. A hope of a happy ending, even if its not the happy ending you imagined it was still happy.

"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do get some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers." - The Fault In Our Stars

5 Stars

REVIEW: Me, Cinderella?

One kind deed can change your life forever...

Brynn Tomlin could never afford to follow her heart. But when she sees a stranger shivering in the snow outside of the college library, an inexplicable urge leads her to buy him a hot cup of coffee. It's just a small act of kindness, a few words of conversation. Brynn should be focusing on her finals, after all, not on the man who looked up at her gratefully with piercing blue eyes. 

He could have been anyone - a janitor on break, a graduate student, a bum. But the man standing outside in the cold turns out to be Dr. Eliot Herceg, one of the most brilliant minds in mathematics and heir to a fortune. After years of reclusive isolation, he now finds his heart awakening to the kind girl whose name he does not know. 

Brynn has spent her life trying to forget her desires, and Eliot's deep wounds have taken nearly a decade to heal. After so much hurt, will either of them be able to open their hearts again?

Published: June 24 2014 by CreateSpace
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:  I enjoyed reading this book, I thought it was going to be more Cinderella-y than it was. Personally it seemed more Beauty and The Beast to me but what do I know, its called Me, Cinderella?  I really enjoy reading books where there is a POV from both parties. I hate not knowing what the other is thinking, especially in a romance. I think it puts too much pressure on the reader, knowing a secret that you don't know if the other party knows or not.

Maybe its been a while since I've read a book with foreshadowing or even noticed, but I noticed in this one. I really liked the math angle. I'm not a big math person myself but the author made Math seem almost interesting. I was still way in over my head just reading it but it was a cool angle. Usually YA/NA books that take place in college center around easy to understand majors, mainly because they aren't vital to the story. In this, there was a difference. To Brynn, Math is orderly, numbers don't lie and they can be controlled. I can see the appeal that subject would give someone who's had a very chaotic life, more so than English or Psychology.

The correlation between real life and Cinderella makes this book ironic and quirky not cheesy and obvious. I.e. Wicked step-mother and sister, treated like a slave. Which is arguably the only Cinderella like quality I thought this book had, I stand by my Beauty and The Beast reference though.

The only thing I had to complain about was the main characters image. You get bits and pieces of what she's been told she looks like by her step-family and how that's affected how she perceives herself, and then there's the Beasts perception of her which is still not clear. I really don't know what she looks like and that is really frustrating, seeing as how I know exactly what Eliot looks like and the dead woman he sees more than the main character.

4 STARS

REVIEW: Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10)

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment has been a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance, unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, isolated netherworld—Tohr turns to the angel Lassiter to save his former mate. The only way to rescue her is for Tohr to love another. As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vie for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past and a hot, passion-filled future. But can his heart let go and set all of them free?

Published: March 27th 2012 by NAL 
Source Goodreads

Thoughts: 
I have high expectations for this book and for Tohrment and I hope J.R. Ward does not disappoint.

And I was not wrong. I felt every emotion there is to feel, I think. I'm still raw from everything Ward put me through. The highs and lows, the funny moments and the somber moments. I don't think I've ever ached for the characters as I did in this book. They became real to me. The pain and longing was my own and the incredibly complex heart-wrenching situations they found themselves in resonated within me. There were so many vital points about life and death, grieving and acceptance that I never took into consideration, never thought about and it took reaching the end of this book to see and accept that. Even though this book was solely about Thor, and I felt for him and No'One the most. Layla, Xhex and Qhuinn each faced their own life demons and their pain was just as moving.
I can't move on from this book, not yet. There is so much to take in and think about before I can read something else totally unrelated to the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I tip my hat to you J.R. Ward.

5 STARS

REVIEW: Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9)

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either. 

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Published: March 29th 2011 by NAL Hardcover
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts: Lulled into a sense of complacency, J.R. Ward reveals a startling new twist that leaves you mind blown. She has done it again and from Lover Mine to Lover Unleashed the stories just keep getting better.

Ever since Manny was first introduced in Lover Unbound and Vishous had a psychic thing that said Brother about Manny I was like HELL YEA HE'S GONNA GET HIS OWN BOOK! And he did! I love Payne, she is contradictory mix of a female, the fighting prowess of a warrior with the body of a Chosen and language and mannerism of one just put her in a category all of her own, and I admire her and couldn't help but wish she were a real person whom I would love to have met.

5 STARS

REVIEW: Recovery (Mending Hearts #1.5)

I have the perfect life. 

I’ve finally found my happy ending. 

I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness. Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems.

What really happens after the fairytale ending? What happens after the prince rescues the princess? After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?

Well…
This is our story.

Published: June 13th 2013
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:
I didn't think I would write a review about Recovery because it's just a continuation of Running on Empty and not very long. However, I couldn't help myself. When I encountered a book that makes me
upset I have to write about it. I can't just shrug it off.

This book has made me so upset! I don't even know where to start, especially without spoiling it for everyone but hopefully if you're reading this you'll take my advice and not read this book.

Alex is frustrating and immature and a pain in the ass to read about. I literally want to make myself into a character and smack her upside the head. How do you marry someone and tell them you love them all while ignoring their attempts to make a life with you? Blake has no say in how the girls are raised (note my concern for her parenting skills in my previous review here). She cleans up after them, they have no responsibility and she insists on doing everything herself while pregnant! And I don't mean a month or two pregnant, I mean 6-8 months along, she's crazy!

It takes her marriage almost falling a part in the symbolic form of a shattering lamp and brush with death where she gets a much needed kick in the ass pep talk by her dead ex-husband meaning that she is in some form of purgatory. Even as I'm reading this (her almost dying and all) I can't seem to find any sympathy for her whatsoever.
(this shouldn't be a spoiler since you must have already read the first book) 
Its been three years since her husband died before Blake came into her life, since her last child was three and is now five, she's been with him for two years now. That's a total of five years without her dead husband! Why then is she still using his death as an excuse to be a stupid control freak?! Yes I understand that death of a love one is traumatic but HE GAVE YOU HIS BLESSING! So why then is she holding onto stupid guilt and stuff and endangering her life and the life of her unborn child, not to mention the fear she's putting Harlow, Blake and her children through. It's all unnecessary events that could have been avoided if she wasn't so stupid or at the very least, events that would leave me sympathizing with her if it was written better, though I doubt that would help.

Sorry about that, rant over. I feel much better now!

1 STAR

REVIEW: Running on Empty (Mending Hearts #1)

I had the perfect life. 

Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls. 
Successful career. 

The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence. 

Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse. 

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.Absolutely no way. 

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

Published: January 4th by L.B. Simmons
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts: Usually when reading you pick sides. You're either rooting for the protagonist or the lover: wishing the protagonist would get her sh*t straightened out be with him already. Not this book. I found myself rooting for neither. Her for being thoughtless and him for being a spineless wimp, putting his life on hold for "the one that got away" *cue eye roll*

To be honest the reason I chose to read this book was because there was a sequel and I can never seem to find sequels with this kind of story line. 

Lately I've been drawn to romantic single mom stories, and for some reason they're really hard to come by, at least the well-written ones. 

Running on Empty was a prime candidate for what I was looking for. Single mom with three daughters, husbands unexpected demise. It had all the makings of what I was looking for, except when I started reading I just didn't like it. It wasn't really the story was the problem but how it was written: I felt as if I was reading a book and I did not like that. Most (avid) readers know that when a book is truly good/great you don't feel like you're reading it but experiencing it. It's like watching a movie through words. Which I believe is why we have such high hopes for castings when our favorite book turns into a movie; but I digress. 

I'm all for fun family life, but for a thirty-something mother of three to come off as a tad immature and with the fact that I kept questioning her parenting skills, I found that couldn't get behind the main character or the story.
It was too one-dimensional. Everything was focused on the main character, I felt as if there was a lot of talk about her children and what's best for them but we didn't get any insight into their feelings. I mean what kid likes a guy their mom is seeing after day one? These children were obsessed with Blake. It just didn't seem real. 
Alex's best friend Harlow seemed like a really interesting character. I wanted to know more about her, all we got were a few rampant thoughts about her from Alex that didn't seem like they should be in the book in the first place but I guess was the authors way of gearing us up for a Harlow book in the "Mending Hearts" series...book 2. 

P.S. 
Words like "evidently" and "giggle" should no longer be in this authors dictionary of words to use for the next book or two in this series. 

2.5 STARS

REVIEW: Trophy Husband

Sometimes you can't help falling in love, even when you try to do the opposite...

Successful fashion blogger McKenna Bell has spent far too long protecting herself after the way her ex-fiancé left her at the altar for a college chick he met the night of his bachelor party. Loving again, trusting again, well, that's just not in the cards. Especially now that her ex is back in town with his new woman, demanding custody of McKenna's favorite creature in the whole world--her dog.

No effing way. McKenna's had enough of him, and she decides to even the score by finding her own hot young thing -- a Trophy Husband. Sure, she's only twenty-seven, but doesn't that make it even more fun -- and infuriating to her ex -- to pursue a younger man?

When she declares her intentions on her daily blog, her quest quickly skyrockets in popularity, and that's when Chris enters the picture, and he’s got all the assets. He's handsome, successful, and turns her inside out with a kiss to end all kisses, the kind that makes you feel like a shooting star.

But loving again could mean losing again, and it's so much easier to focus on getting even, isn't it? Unless, you just can't help falling in love. Which means McKenna will have to come face to face with what she really wants in life -- protecting her heart from hurt, or letting go of her fears of a new beginning.

Published: May 21st 2013  by Lauren Blakely Books
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:                                                 

This book made me laugh out loud and gave me the warm fuzzies. It was not at all what I expected; which was absymal writing and a so-so story line.  If you just got jilted at the alter and looking for revenge ideas look no further. It was quirky and fun following McKenna in her search for a trophy husband, you have to admit the idea is pretty ingenious; especially since we women are always saying that we can do whatever men can do but better. 

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading Trophy Husband  and found myself at times unable to put it down in favor of sleep, there were a few things that just did not sit well with me:

SPOILER! 

• McKenna's ex-fiance jilted her at his bacholer party in Vegas no less for a gymnast -- ok predictable
• He doesn't care -- also predictable. Except there are two kinds of callousness. 1) jilt and just don't care, no more contact. 2) jilt and preceed to make ex-fiancee's life a living hell, coming off as a cold-hearted SOB. He was the latter. 

 I wonder if I'd still be saying things like babe and hot chick when I'm 27, even though I don't say them now.
Minus those two points it was a typical chick lit, filled with the requisite bffs that will stand by you and cheer you on for even the dumbest of ideas; the nerdy but hot looking man, the big showy signs of affection and lovey-dovey song playlist; and I must say pretty decent sex scenes. 

Curl up with your golden retriever and a steamy mug of hot chocolate and enjoy uber retro McKenna on her quest for the perfect Trophy Husband

4 STARS

REVIEW: Hopeless

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Published: December 19, 2012
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:                                                        
I am trying to think of words that could help describe this book and how it made me feel. It was slow but intense and real.

 I think what I love about this new genre of NA fiction is how real everything is, and by real I mean relatable to the average 20-something. This genre is not afraid to get into sticky topics such as sex and drug abuse or anything remotely dark.

The characters age range is older end of young adult or the blossoming 20-something more so than actual YA books. While their struggles may not be relatable to all that read their stories, their pain, their suffering and their joy is ours.
Whether their specific pain is different from that which we have experienced first-hand the reality of it isn't any less real.
While reading Hopeless we know what it feels like at this age to be afraid and alone -- without hope.

I enjoyed the slow pace at the beginning of this book because I could tell it was gearing me up for something-bigger, and before the something-bigger happened I had time to regroup in the form of a "chapter break" (i.e. a Part 2). When the something-bigger came it came hard and it came fast -- not fast in the sense that I had the impression the author wanted to get it over with--fast in the sense that there was so much to take in, so much revelation. It was mind-blowing. Your eyes couldn't read fast enough, your fingers couldn't turn the page fast enough, and your mind couldn't grasp all there was quick enough to satisfy you.

Hopeless is about bravery, forgiveness, love, justice, and acceptance. It is a story filled with laughter, sorrow and intense pain. I tip my hat to you Colleen Hoover for an incredibly well written story.

5 STARS