Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
Series: Cannie Shapiro, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: April 2, 2002

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.

I'm going to start off by saying that I've been in a chick lit mood lately - and Good in Bed didn't satisfy my needs. It just made me want to read more and more, because it was exactly the sweet, fluffy bit of literature that I was looking for. Cannie was the perfect heroine for me - I immediately identified with her. She's a larger girl, just going through life like the rest of us, and that made her very easy to like.

She was very sassy and sarcastic, which I just adored. But she didn't have that prickly outer shell that some main characters tend to have - she was still very sweet in my opinion. To be honest, I'd recommend this book to fans of Bridget Jones' Diary, because that's what it reminded me of. Cannie and Bridget have very similar personalities, and they live similarly. I loved Cannie's fight to lose weight, and her regular girl thoughts of lost love, paired with the horror of the magazine article, it was quite a wild (if sort of tame and fluffy) ride.

Good in Bed was written in a very humorous style, with several over-dramatizations and a lot of humorous hijinks - and some not so humorous as well. It has every level of drama, from not-that-bad to crazy-bad and it always kept me on my toes. At any point something could happen, and I didn't want to miss any of it.

Speaking of something happening - I just hoped and prayed for a love connection between Cannie and the doctor. There just had to be something there, you know? They seemed to have fabulous chemistry and I found him to be very kind and wise - the perfect traits for a women like Cannie. He was solid, something that I really felt that she needed.

But let me be clear here - a man did not save Cannie Shapiro.

Cannie Shapiro saved herself. I loved the feel-good empowerment of the ending. There was so much "love yourself" vibes coming from the end article that it could have only been a great ending. It may have been fluffy, and a little bit mushy, but I enjoyed Good in Bed immensely.
  

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Series: Not announced
Source: Bought
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.

Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.

So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

Transforming rain into rock.
Destroying everyone who can hear it.
I'm avalanching the sky.

I'm going to start off by saying that Magonia is one of the more interesting books I've read this year. It had adventure. It had intrigue. It had a mythological background that was filled out with an interesting bunch of fantastical characters. It reminded me of one of my very favorite books, Stardust.

At first, I was scrolling through many theories in my head about our main character, Aza Ray. I just couldn't decide about her - was she a changeling? Did they take the girl that lived there and replace her with Aza Ray, or was she put there because the human child died? What's the deal here? Then I went from theories about how she got there to thinking about the character herself.

And as I was thinking about her, I realized that she was really quite an interesting character. She may be a slight bit lacking on the emotional front, but she was smart, sassy, and ready to kick some ass. She was hungry for some power, but who wouldn't be after living in her situation - knowing that they were dying each day? I'll give her one more thing - although she was lacking on the emotional bits, she really did have a good heart.

Now I'm gonna bring up her best friend, and my second favorite character after Aza Ray. Jason. I enjoyed him as a character, and while Aza was lacking in emotion, he was not. Some of his pages were so grief-stricken that it made me want to cry! He had so much behind his words, and on top of that he was cool as hell. Smart, full of wicked ideas, really he was Aza's twin in a guy form. I wanted them to get together so bad - which brings me to my next point.

Can we please get a young adult book where there is no alternate love interest. Yes, you heard me. There is in fact an alternate love interest in Magonia. And he was a dick. No doubt about it, jerky attitude all the way to the end. I didn't like him, and I didn't like Aza's interest in him. I much preferred Jason.

Jason, who researched all about Magonia because of something his best friend said to him. Jason, who searched for Aza Ray after she left - who was convinced that she wasn't really dead. (Funny thing about that...she wasn't really dead.) And through his research and his point of view, we learn so much about the history and backstory of Magonia.

It really was a beautifully thought out fantasy novel - I loved that the author took the time to really research the myth of Magonia. She took the time to really fill in all the empty spots with interesting stories and thoughts and theories. While we're on the subject, I found the world of Magonia to be absolutely fascinating!

When Aza Ray first steps on that ship, it's like a whirlwind of surreal and deep fantasy - like waking up in the middle of a crazy dream. It was a little hard for me to process at first, because I wasn't used to the world that she had filled in - but it was well worth the wait for my mind to kick in. I found the birds to be pretty hard to swallow at first, but the longer I read, the more normal it seemed.

Just like the idea of a flying ship of people living in the sky that steal crops and can drown in the air... it all just kind of fit together in an imaginative, interesting way.

Speaking of people that live in the sky - I didn't really care for their leader, Zal. AKA, Aza Ray's mom. I found her to be really kind of crazy. The power that she's hungry for is way more than any one entity should possess, and she's willing to do anything to get it. I couldn't trust her at all throughout the book, and towards the end I realized that she truly was a merciless cow.

But it did make for a good ending battle. Lots of action and such. But I did have a problem with the ending of this book - although it was happy, there were lots of unanswered questions that I had, and quite a few loose ends that I wanted to see tied up - I was very invested in several subplots that I did not get to see resolved. Really, the only thing is that I wanted more. All in all, I'd say that Magonia was a pretty damn good book.
 

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
Series: Angelfire, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: February 15, 2011

First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Today I'm doing something different than I used to. As you guys know, it's been a while since I've written a review, and I guess my mind has kind of forgotten how to do it. So what I'm going to do is use a bullet-point format to just kind of outline the thoughts that I had while reading this book. I'm hoping that's okay with y'all.

• Ellie is kind of a flat character. When I read from her point of view, I feel like there's too much explaining going on, like the author is trying to make her believable and a deep character, but she's only making her flat by not making her feel enough. It's too much mechanical thinking rather than emotional thinking.

• Will is the typical paranormal love interest, and I really don't buy this "in love for centuries" shit. It is the most overused and cliched storyline in young adult paranormals.

• The writing is a little stilted, but it still manages to be enjoyable, if you're not putting much stock into this being a life changing read. It would probably make a good movie, because I feel like it has a movie level of character growth. Just enough to get by, but not enough to really make it anything special.

• From what I've seen so far (page 94), the  plot appears to be a little bit simplistic, or in other words it's a bit cliche.

• I feel like there's too much detail, but at the same time not enough. It's hard to explain.

• I'm sick if every single ya book having a love triangle. Is it too much to ask for just one love interest? In real life not every single girl has magical powers and multiple love interests. So step up your game, ya authors!

• Ellie is prettyy girly and it doesn't really fit the badass she's supposed to be.

• I appreciate the fact that Ellie tries to reason Will into thinking that just because they were born of that doesn't mean they're evil or that they're good... That they probably have a choice.

• None of the characters have any depth to speak of. If you looked at thier facial expressions it'd be like looking at a plain brick wall.

• I think it's unrealistic that every time Ellie's Audi gets totaled, there's always a way of getting it easily repaired. Insurance claims work out and everything is fine and fixed.

• There is absolutely no way whatsoever they could plan this big world saving trip on a thanksgiving holiday. You can't make last minute plane trip rides for the Wednesday before thanksgiving and a ride back on Black Friday - it doesn't happen. And even if you could, there are way too many people to risk it.

• The villains are very one dimensional and cheesy in their dialogue. They don't have enough depth or the right motivation to even be good villains. There's no good backgrounds.

• I'm having to push my way through Angelfire which makes me think that I won't be continuing this series. The plot has no depth, the characters have no life,and don't even let me bring up the cardboard cutout villains.

• Towards the end Angelfire got a little bit better, and I'll give it two stars for that, but it definitely won't be going on my favorites shelf. In fact, I think it's going on my "get this book out of my site" box.

• All in all, I'm going to go ahead and let you all know that I won't be recommending this one - it didn't work for me, in any stretch of the word. The plot made me want to bang my head on walls, and the characters made me want to go on a mad stabbing/killing spree. This one just wasn't for me.

Love by Lacey Weatherford

Love by Lacey Weatherford
Series: Crush #3
Source: bought Kindle
Publisher: Moonstruck Media
Publication Date: April 12, 2014
Age Genre: New Adult (not explicit)
Challenges: Prequel-Sequel
Challenges: Contemporary
Challenges: TBR - Paid For
Find on Leafmarks! 

Living happily ever after has always been part of the plan for Cami and Dylan, but when strange things begin happening around the Wilcock household, Cami simply believes she’s becoming forgetful.
However, when the incidents begin to escalate, both are left feeling vulnerable. Unable to figure out what’s going on, Dylan delves deeper into the mysterious happenings. But when the truth comes out, he finds himself faced with the biggest decision of his life—how far will he go to protect the one he loves?

*To see spoilers, mark them with your mouse*

Love is the final book in the Cami x Dylan chronicles. We've watched these two since high-school (sort of), battling maniac after maniac, surviving and being even more in love after that. I enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Cami and Dylan happy together, in blissful matrimony. However, if I'm being completely honest with myself, I'm not sure if this book was 100% necessary.

I mean, as much as I love Dylan and Cami, I could've done without it. I didn't feel like there was a need to put them through all that - or maybe I should say THAT -  especially since it didn't add to their relationship. No need to strengthen an already unbreakable love, you know?

Writing this, after having read the companion novel Smolder, I feel almost like this book was written soley for Russ's story, so he'll have something traumatic to set everything in motion. And it was truly traumatic, I'll give it that.

I think I could've gotten over that feeling if the book was believable... but it wasn't. I mean, first of all - I watch ton of cops shows. It's not really that easy to move someone to witness protection. Sure, there is the fact that Dylan is a cop (or ex cop, whatever), but still. It was a bit too easy for my tastes.

Then there was SPOILER the way they've been found. It was a bit too arbitrary (and way too quick). And, again, way too easy - I mean, seriously, what are the chances the villain has been happening to watch tv about a fair held not in her city, and just happened to notice a couple of people in the background, after these two have changed their appearance? END SPOILER Give me a break.

However, they were adorable together. And their love for one another a bit overwhelming, and all inspiring. I wish I had a relationship like that (though, at this point, any relationship will do lol).

All in all, not Weatherford's best work, but still enjoyable.

Nitzan★

Thursday Oldie: Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell

YOU CAN FIND AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW ON MY NEW BLOG, AFTERWORDS! 

Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell
Series: The Timber Wolves Trilgoy #1
Source: bought kindle boxset
Publisher: Indie
Age Genre: Young Adult
Originally published: Feb 4, 2013
Challenges: Re-Read

Scout Donovan is a girl who believes in rules, logic, and her lifelong love of Charlie Hagan. Alex Cole believes in destiny, magic, and Scout. When Alex introduces Scout to the world of Shifters, men who change into wolves or coyotes during the full moon and Seers, women who can see your most private thoughts and emotions with a mere touch, the knowledge changes everything and everyone Scout thought she knew.

.

For this week's Oldie, I'm bringing back one of my favorite shifter series ever, after recently re-reading it. It's also one of the most underrated books and series out there. I mean, seriously. You don't need to read this review - go read the book instead. That's time better spent, I'll tell you that. 

'Course, if you want to read my review and read the book I'm all for that.

Destiny Binds starts the epic journey of Harper "Scout" Donovan, one of the most awesome and kickass main characters in the history of YA. She is funny and sarcastic, smart and logical, honest and strong, and loving. She is also odd looking, in an eye catching way. God only knows why this incredible person doesn't have too many friends at the beginning of the series, but I will be her friend in a heartbeat. I already consider myself one.

As many of these stories go (and this is just about the only typical thing about this whole series), Scout's story start with the arrival of Alex and his brother Liam Cole into town. Alex is basically every girl's dream guy: sweet, charismatic, caring, loving, hot, two killer dimples and a kind of tortured past. Can you blame Scout for falling for him? I can't, as I fell for him and the way he behaved and acted around Scout alongside her.

The romance between these two doesn't happen at once, though. There's attraction, but there's also Alex's wacky brother to consider - and Scout's step brother, the infinitely awesome Jase Donovan is really against the Coles. And considering Scout and Jase have been together since babyhood, and their relationship is built equally on banter and devotion (there's a reason people call them Twins), Scout cares and listens to what he says.

But eventually, Alex and Scout's relationship develop into something... more.

The romance in this book, and series as a whole, is really unique, and I mean that in the best way possible. You won't notice it at first, though I'll guarantee the lack of insta love, the time it take for it to develop and the fact Scout actually picks a guy when put in a sort of love-triangle instead of twiddling her thumbs for three books is astounding and unique on itself.

But the truly special thing about it--what makes it stand out to other series--happens at the end of the book, carries on to the second and really shows itself on the third. It's a roller coaster, but one you'll come down from smiling.

Alongside Alex, Scout and Jase there are a bunch of great characters, such as Talley, Scout's best friend, the kind of person who sees the best in everyone and understands her friends almost as well as she understands herself, and Charlie, Jase's best friend & cousin with whom Scout has been in love with for years. He's the peacemaker in the group, the logical one. And the four of them are pretty much inseparable outside of school. Think of The Fantastic Four,

As for the ending... well, I'm not going to lie. I cried. Even the second time I read it. All I can say in relations to this is that Ashley is a stupid bitch, and I don't say the B word lightly.
Blackwell does something really dangerous here, and pretty much unheard of in YA, but it works. It works for this book, and I promise you it works for the next.

So, do me a favor. If the review somehow failed to convey my recommendation for this book, I'll put it now in clear writing: READ THIS BOOK. Read it if you love shifter books, read it if you don't. Read it if fantasy is your thing, and--yes--read it even if it's not. Read it.  

Nitzan★

Relatively Famous by (The Lovely) Heather Leigh

Relatively Famous by Heather Leigh 
Series: Famous #1
Source: Free Kindle Copy
Publisher: Shelbyville Publishing
Publication Date: June 7, 2014
Age Genre: Adult
Relatively Famous on Leafmarks

This is NOT your average Hollywood romance. There are no virgins falling in love with hot actors. There isn't a famous guy falling for the normal girl next door.
What there IS in this book, is a fragile, damaged girl and the sexy alpha who rescues her.
Sydney Allen is trying to be your average 24 year old New Yorker. It’s hard to be average though when your mother is Evangeline Allen, an Oscar winning actress known as “America’s Sweetheart” to moviegoers across the globe. It’s even harder to be average when your dad is Reid Tannen, Hollywood Bad Boy and one of the highest paid actors in the world.
Their divorce when Sydney was 12 years old was set off by a series of haunting incidents that left Sydney scarred mentally and physically. Hollywood destroyed her parents’ marriage and almost destroyed her. She hasn’t owned a TV, read magazines or watched movies since the divorce, refusing to take part in an industry that brought her so much pain.
Now 12 years after her mother took her from LA and hid her in New York to keep her safe, no one but her best friend Leah knows who Sydney is or that her parents are famous movie stars and she’s determined to keep it that way. She guards her identity fanatically, not letting anyone get close enough to her to find out who she is.
When Sydney meets the gorgeous but mysterious Drew Forrester at a rough MMA training gym one morning, her life changes. It’s time for her to decide if he’s worth sharing her secret with, or if she’s better off being alone forever. Or maybe she’ll find out that she’s not the only one hiding something. Dating Drew, Sydney is forced to confront all of her fears at once; celebrity, fame, tabloids, stalkers. Can she survive another high profile exposure to the world?

DNF★

I'm not going to rate this one, because I didn't finish it and I didn't hate it quite enough to rate it one of my rare one stars. Honestly, I didn't hate the book at all. I just found it frustrating and ridiculous. Usually, I give a book at least 30% to impress me before DNFing, but with Relatively Famous, I called it quits at 23%.

I just reached this point where I couldn't stand to hear how his smallest touch made her nipple harden one more time. I mean, I get it. He's hot, and looking at him makes you hot and blah blah blah, but you really need to stop telling me about it. Move on to the actually important stuff - getting to know him!

Not to mention that by this point, I already knew Sydney and I do not get along. I found her so ridiculous. She would be in an awkward position, and when the guy tries to make small talk she uses the term 'awkward ass' on him in her head. Why is he an ass? Oh, and let's not talk about the fact somehow telling someone two generic sentences equals in her head to spilling her gut. Her gut must be truly tiny and empty, then. And her narration style really didn't make me sympathetic. Instead of feeling for Sydney, I felt indifferent. Instead of truly feeling her trauma, I felt like I was being beaten by Sydney with how many times she says it. Show and not tell, Syd. Stop telling me how traumatized you are and make me truly and honestly believe it, because I didn't.

But the straw that broke the camel's back, was her whole relationship with Drew. Or really lack of thereof. She knows Drew for two days, the first of which they exchanged two words. But their second meeting, which evolves into a date, she mentions a bond. They feed each other (first date!). She thinks of the possibility of a future. Entertains the idea of one day telling him the truth. Sydney, the supposedly traumatized girl who doesn't let anyone in. Very believable. Not. 

The only thing I'm semi sad not to read more of, is the story of her mother and dad. There's something there, and it's kind of intriguing. The only intriguing part of this whole book. I want to know what really happened, and what her dad's version of events is. Sadly, I don't want it enough to suffer through everything else...

Now,

I didn't really plan on posting this review. I don't really know why - I just decided to post it on GR and LM and that's it. But then I got a comment from the author. When I got a message telling me I had a comment from Heather Leigh on my review, I was semi petrified to read it. My review is not positive, and I was afraid the comment will be hurtful. I never encountered such an author, but I knew they existed.

I couldn't be more wrong. Instead of anything bad, the author... agreed with me? She told me she's heard similar critique from other readers and was working on fixing these problems. She told me she'd love to send me a free copy of her newest book to show me she has improved since this book. She asked me to be a beta reader.

I've rarely had such a pleasant conversation with an author - and never with one regarding a bad review from me. I just had to share it. 2014 held many author scandals where authors Behaved Badly. So I had to share with you guys this lovely instance of the contrary.

The titles calls Heather Leigh lovely because I truly think she is. She's also a really intelligent woman, and despite this negative review I know I will read other books from her just because of the kind of human being she is. So, this is a positive review of the author ;)

Nitzan★

Bookish Discussion: All That Drama

So, today I want to discuss with you contemporary romance series, and share what types I read and what type I don't on the most basic level.

As a rule, I don't read those kind of series that deal with the same couple throughout all the books. I cannot get enough of standalone series, and I enjoy them immensely but once I see the couple's story is not finished in that first installment... I'm put off. It's has stopped me from one clicking a freebie more than one time. 

Why? Because it means said couple just has to go through a TON OF DRAMA to hold more than one book. There are always going to be annoying issues, or misunderstandings, or popping secrets (or exes) or suddenly one will decide he's not good enough for the other after three books of being together just to sustain the interest of the reader...

I can't stand that. I rather know the HEA is going to be coming at the end of the book, and not a massive cliffhanger or a new pile of issues.

In fantasy series, there's usually a bigger plot arc that holds the story, allowing the couple to have less drama and more time in between, so I'm not only fine with one couple being the center of all books - I'm all for it. Especially if it's slow burn and develops over time, allowing me to really believe in the fiber of my bones that the two should be together. Same goes for mysteries and the likes; there's usually something else going on, so the couple needn't suffer from meaningless anguish.

But contemporary romances series? just LOTS OF SHIT going on, all the time. The couple is usually never happy for long, which tires me fast.

So I stir clear of all that.

What about you? Do you love same-couple based contemproray series, or are you like me - preferring standalones or standalone series?

Nitzan★

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Series: Seraphina #1
Source: Bought hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Age Genre: Young Adult

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

 

I adored Seraphina. It's been a while since I've read any good "dragon" book, and I love them as a creature. Fire breathing, treasure hoarding, deadly, beautiful winged-scaled animals? What could be better?! Maybe this is also good time and place to ask you guys on suggestion for other good dragon books.

But I digress.

Seraphina is a wonderful heroine. She is so fleshed out, that she is right there in front of you. You could almost touch her. She is a brave, smart young lady, filled with insecurities and self doubt and self hate. But she never lets it stop her, and you feel her pain as strongly as if it were your own.

Alongside Seraphina we have a great cast of side characters, from the headstrong and sometimes silly princess (but don't let that fool you - she's a sharp one) to the adorable Dragon uncle Orma, to the music master, and the cast of grotesques (of whom we will hopefully see a lot more in the sequel).

Oh, and let's not forget the prince.

Kiggs is a prince. He is also a bastard, and the head of the Guard. He was smart, sweet and loyal to a fault. He is perceptive and once he makes you his friend, you'll be hard bent to shake him off. Not that you'll want to, really.

His and Seraphina's relationship was an interesting one. It progressed slowly, but surely, and I feel like we just touched the tip of the iceberg of what these two could become, despite love declarations already made. It feels to me like this could become an epic love, but it's not there yet.

But, get this, the most interesting part of this book is not any of that. The best part of this book is easily the dragons and the world - here, dragons are something like autistic people. They're analytic, logical, and seem to lack emotions - and an understanding of them. However, as much as people claim them "soulless", they are far from that. At least the dragons we meet in Seraphina.

The ideas behind this book are so intriguing and create one heck of a setting. Of which I'm actually thirsty for more. I can't wait to revisit this world in the next book!

The only "downside" of the book may be in the action department, which I felt was a bit lacking. The book was never dull or boring, but it wasn't action filled. Even the exciting parts were usually done or solved in talking. So don't expect any epic sword-fighting. And while this didn't bother my enjoyment of the book at all, I do feel this may relate to why the book also lacked that WOW moment that blows you away.

But even without that wow moment, this is a wow book, for me. I'll eat the hat I'm not wearing if I don't read the next book as soon as it comes out.

The Turbulence Journey to Getting Seraphina

And I'm going to digress again, this time on purpose, because the story behind how I finally got my hands on the book is one I need to tell. On July, I ordered the book from Amazon. Their shipping is normally too expensive for me, but I wanted the purple cover too much, as I'm not a fan of the black&white one. From experience, Amazon shipments get here in about two weeks, despite their month and a half expectation date. 

But two weeks flew by, then a month, then a month and a half. And still, I waited. The delay could be on my side, after all. We did have a sort of war going on for a while there. Fast forward another month and a half, and I know the book isn't going to get to me. Other orders have reached me, and three months is enough of a wait. So I sent a message to Amazon, after a frustratingly long time trying to figure out how to do that - it wasn't in any convenient/obvious place.

But finally I did. Maybe a day later, I got a reply. They put a new order for me, with the best shipping they had, which was unexpected. I had hoped for a new shipment, but didn't expect the extra mile. Three days later, the book was here. Three days!

Well done, Amazon! Well done.

   Nitzan★

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Series: The Ascendance Trilogy #1
Source: bought paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: Feb 1st, 2013
Age Genre: Young Adult

Choose to lie...or choose to die.

Four boys, one treacherous plan, an entire kingdom to fool...
In a faraway land, civil war is brewing. To unify his kingdoms' divided people, a nobleman named Conner devises a cunning plan to place an impersonator of the king's long-lost son on the throne. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant and clever boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of duplicity and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

When I started reading The False Prince, I wasn't sure of it. It took a while for me to truly become immersed in this story, but once I did, it didn't let go. I had to know what happens next, who will live and who will die and how does Sage gets out of this mess?

Speaking of Sage, I love him as a main character. He is a flawed, brave, sharp-tongued, clever, headstrong boy. His positive qualities overweight his bad ones by a hair, which makes him so human and lovable. Though, he is clearly something special.

Next to him is a cast of interesting characters, from the two other boys - Tobias and Roden, who fought for my affection and my hatred throughout the whole book, Imogen, whom I honestly loved, Mott, Connor's loyal right hand (love you dude!), and Connor himself, who I kept second guessing about.

This book is filled with that - second guessing, I mean. You are never quite sure who's in the right and who's in the wrong. Who you can trust and who you can't. Who will be an ally and who would be an enemy. And I loved it.

I loved that the big twist - though I guessed it from literally the first moment - wasn't obvious. It was actually very underhanded, very subtly hinted at. And the book never failed to surprise me in regard to everything else. 

I thought everything was beautifully done.

The style of writing - and honestly, story - strongly reminded me of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, one of my absolute favorite books. So I highly recommend this book for fans of Turner.

I don't think I'll get the chance to read the sequels any time soon - I have to order them, and I don't know if I've told you, but I'm starting my mandatory services in the army, so I might not have time, but I swear to god I will do it the first chance I get because I just have to know where this is going from here.

   Nitzan★

Pieces by Janine Infante Bosco

Pieces by Janine Infante Bosco
Series: The Riverdale #1
Source: Kindle edition
Publisher: indie
Publication Date: April 6th, 2014
Age Group: Adult

Jake Lanza is one of Riverdale New York’s favorite sons. He owns a tattoo parlor in the small upstate town and prides himself on being a fun-loving, live by the seat of your pants type of guy. He has everything he wants in life, a thriving business, a great family and a best friend with whom he could never live without.
Cara Sloane weaved her way into Jake’s life when they were fifteen years old. After her life fell apart at such a young age, Jake helped her heal, and began to pick up the pieces of her fallen life. His unconventional ways slowly had him becoming the anchor in her life.
Now fourteen years later Jake begins to see Cara in a new light. The things he thought he never wanted, he suddenly began to yearn for. The only problem was they were both too frightened to lose the greatest love either of them has ever known. Can Jake convince Cara there is more for them than just a friendship? Is he willing to take that gamble himself?

I got Pieces as a free kindle book. I was immediately interested by the theme of long time friends becoming more. It's one of my favorites. I started reading it almost the same day I got it, and immediately I noticed a glaring issue.

This book was poorly edited. It's not that it was badly written, but there were typos, sometimes the author wrote the wrong name, and most noticeable - the comma abuse. Every sentence had an insane amount of commas, even where they weren't need. It fractured the sentences, broke the fluidity of the reading, and kept taking me out of the plot as I was trying to translate how the sentence should be written.

It took a lot of effort and concentration to get over that and keep reading.

But I will admit - this book is good, aside for that. It has good characters - what with both Cara and Jake being strong, funny, good people - a good romance that made you feel the both of them belonged together, and the interactions between everyone made me smile and laugh.

It was also heartbreaking, but not in a way that made me (personally) cry. Probably because my issues with the commas stopped me from being completely swallowed by the book.

However, I won't be reading book 2. Not because this book wasn't good, but because SPOILER FOR BOOK TWO I know Jake dies. And I can't take that. I also can't take the direction of the third book. I never wanted those two together. No, Jake and Cara is it for me in this book. So, no thank you. END SPOIELR

   Nitzan★

Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Last Breath by Rachel Caine
Series: The Morganville Vampires #11
Source: Bought paperback
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication Date: Oct 28, 2011
Age Genre: Young Adult

Claire Danvers is concerned when three vampires vanish from Morganville without a trace. The last person seen with them is someone new to town - a mysterious individual named Magnus. Claire is convinced creepy Magnus isn't human... but is he a vampire, or something else entirely?
Claire's hunt for answers leads her to solving another mystery that's long been puzzling her: why do vampires live so far out in a sunny desert when they're sensitive to sunlight? The answer has nothing to do with sunlight, but with water - and an ancient enemy who has finally found a way to invade the vampires' landlocked community. Vampires aren't the top predotor on earth. There's something worse that preys on them... something much worse.
Which means if Claire, and Morganville, wants to live, they will have to fight on to the last breath...

Review contains book 10 spoilers

Okay, so let's get a few things straight, as this is the first time I've talked about TMV on The Book Babe's Reads. I love this series. Like, I really really do. It's super fun, and surprising, and I love the romance, and the action, and the plot.

So, imagine my surprise when, thanks to an edit I did on Leafmarks, I came to the stunning, horrifying realization that I've read the last installment in the series nine months ago.

Nine months! Where did the time go!? What exactly happened in those nine months? Regardless, the moment I realized this atrocity, I picked up my copy of Last Breath and pretty much the next day I was reading it.

I had forgotten how much I love the characters of this book. Their interactions made me smile and laugh so much, even though dire things happen. Like, there's never a moment of pure happiness. And if there is, it means someones going to die soon.

And still, the overall feel of the book is the opposite of the downer it should be.

Though, I've got to admit - how much I love everyone is not the only thing I forgot. Thanks to the huge gap in reading, I forgot details from the last books. Like Eve and Micheal getting engaged. That kind of blindsided me (and thank god Caine didn't drag out their issues, because they need some happy time!)

We also had a new couple brewing in this novel aside for our faves Claire and Shane (total OTP for this series!) and Michael and Eve. Personally, I think they are long overdo. I felt the sexual tension between them back in book one! Can't wait to see what happens there.

But romance is not really the main issue in this novel. Oh no, not at all. What Caine does here is pretty unique and unheard of - though I admit to have felt less of the impact of it thanks to... spoilers. I've been waiting for it to happen since I accidentally read of it. And yes, it was still exciting, but I knew how it would be solved, so there wasn't any anxiety involved, which is unfortunate.

But if you, dear reader, go into this book unawares, I guarantee the shock of your life and a twist to make you completely unable to even! And then there's that cliffy... *sigh*

On a few technical notes, this book introduces several new POVs, including Eve's, Micheal's and Amelie's. And they are in first person, which was a bit jarring at first because I've gotten used to Claire's third person pov style.

Surprisingly enough, I kind of hated Amelie's pov, even though I really do like her as a character. I especially loved Micheal's voice, and Shane's voice completely redeemed itself after the last book - in which his POV kind of made me... hate him? I hate hating characters I love (and yes, that is a logical sentence), so I'm happy to be back on track with him!

On a side-note; that is the worst synopsis ever.

   Nitzan★

DNF: Adventures of a Graveyard Girl by Milda Harris

Adventures of a Graveyard Girl by Milda Harris
Series: Funeral Crushing #2
Source: Bought kindle copy
Publisher: indie
Publication Date: April 23rd, 2012
Age Group: Young Adult

Kait Lenox is back! It's Homecoming Dance time and Kait is excited. It's her first dance with a date and that date is none other than one of the hottest, most popular guys in her school, Ethan Ripley! For once Kait doesn't feel like a funeral crashing weird girl and it's the most perfect romantic evening ever...at least until a girl gets murdered in the high school bathroom. Rumors fly, panic ensues, and Kait can't help herself, she assigns herself to the case!

DNF

Wow, a third DNF review in so many weeks. I know this makes me look bad, I do, but I swear things are not as bad as they seem. I only have thirteen books marked a DNF on Goodreads. I probably have a few more I didn't mark, but no more than twenty, twenty five - in three years of over 470 books. That's a pretty good percentile, don't you think? I don't DNF that often, or that willingly. At least, I didn't use to.

But I think I've also reached the point where I treasure the enjoyment I get from every book, and if I don't really enjoy it... well, there isn't much point in reading it, is there?
Still, I don't always review DNF books... Only if I can explain exactly why I didn't finish it, and I'd like to share that.

I picked up this book because a while back (like, two years ago), I read the first book and enjoyed it. It wasn't A-mazing, but it was cute and fun and I decided I wanted to continue with the series. But then I couldn't. At 48% of the book, I called it quits. My heart just wasn't in it. I kept looking at reading the book as a chore, which is never encouraging.

I had three big issues with Adventures of a Graveyard Girl.

1. It was way too... dare I say it?... childish to me. I don't need characters to be my age to enjoy them, but here they just read like immature 12 year olds, and not teenagers. And I've read and enjoyed books with twelve year old more than this. It was just... too exaggeratedly childish. Teenagers are allowed to have their immature moments, for sure, but not 100% of the time.

2. Then there was the poorly edited text. There were a lot of missing punctuation marks, or places where I felt a dot should've been but weren't. There were a lot of duplicated words in a way that made no sense. A lot of describing sentences that lacked finesse. It felt like... well, like an amateur job. Like no one actually read over the book and corrected all of these. It was like reading a draft, and not a finished product. And I don't know about you, but that bothers me.

3. And finally, the repetition. How many times can you say the same thing on one page? apparently, a lot. Enough that I totally lost count. It was like Harris didn't trust we got the information the first time, so she mentioned it 50 times more just to be sure. In very similar wording. That's one of my major writing pet-peeves.

So in the end, despite enjoying the first book, I decided this is as far as I and this series go. It's just not for me, really.

  Nitzan★

DNF: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - A Tale of Failure

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Series: Gentleman Bastard #1
Source: bought paperback
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: 2007
Age Group: Adult due to character's ages and language

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a friend to the poor, a ghost that walks through walls.
Slightly built and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves. The Gentleman Bastards.
The capricious, colourful underworld of the ancient city of Camorr is the only home they have ever known. But now a clandestine war is threatening to tear it apart. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends are suddenly struggling just to stay alive...

DNF

The Lies of Locke Lamora sounded like the perfect book for me. I love thieves, I love imperfect characters, I love schemes and acts and the whole scene, and so I went crazy and bought books one and two together (they were on sale, though).

Probably a big mistake, because from page one, Locke and I were a story of hardships and struggle, and eventually - a bad breakup. The first time I opened the book, I stopped after the prologue. It was probably a combination of my mood and the time of the day I read it, but I just couldn't keep my head straight with the names, times, and locations. I was oh so confused, and I couldn't get a fixed image of all the scenery and world as I was reading--and there was a lot of those.

So I put it down, very dejected, to say the least. I picked it up again eight months later after seeing a favorable review from a much loved reviewer, but I had no real illusions. I put my goal at reading one chapter per day. And yes, it was easier. I wasn't confused, and I guess that's why I think my confusion originally came from a combination of things unrelated to the book, but I had also given up on the world as a whole and decided to just focus on what we were seeing (or reading) at any given time because I just couldn't follow.

There were so many parts of just describing stuff, and telling us stuff (a lot of it about the world, and not the plot), and those I just couldn't take. I wish there were more conversations and things actually happening, because those I did enjoy. They were just so overshadowed by the descriptions and world building it's not even funny! 

However, at page 153, when I was still struggling through every page, I lowered my goal to two/three chapters a week. Quite frankly, my only propose while reading this book was to finish it. Because I had already gotten book two. Because I wanted to love it so desperately. Because I wanted to prove to myself that this book would not beat me.

But it did. Because the moment I lowered my page count, it became more and more difficult to pick it up at all. And so, ten days later, I had only read 10 new pages of the book. And the worst part was I kept giving up after mere sentences. I just couldn't do it! Add to that that I knew what was going to happen in the broadest sense of the word, as I read a few spoilers to see if it was even worth continuing and I came to the realization - why am I reading a huge book I'm not enjoying? Why am I wasting time fighting with a story that doesn't appeal to me? With characters that I've failed to become attached to?

Because I can honestly say I didn't connect or relate to Locke, the twins, Jean, or anyone. Sure, they were kind of cool. Very cunning. Joked a lot. But that didn't exactly made me feel anything toward them. I didn't particularly root for them, and I didn't feel much when they encountered difficulties.

I have so many books I want to read. So many stories that are for me, and here I am, with one that's not. No thank you. It was depressing me, honestly.

   Nitzan★

I might giveaway my copies of books one and two. Would you guys like that?

Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Take Me On by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits, #4
Source: Bought
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 27, 2014

Acclaimed author Katie McGarry returns with the knockout new story of two high school seniors who are about to learn what winning really means.

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her-fighting for her-is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

Take Me On starts out with a bang - the first meeting of West and Haley was pretty good, and I loved how we were thrown straight into the story, but I feel like this is weakest book from Katie McGarry so far. I can tell you right now that I didn't really ship Haley and West. They were okay together, but I didn't feel like their relationship was going to last through all of the tests and the struggles. I definitely didn't love this one as much as I loved it's predecessor, Crash Into You.

Not only did I think that the love story between Haley and West was weak, but I also thought that it was a bit cliched. Jaded girl falls for the boy who has everything - except a family that loves him. This was made better by the fact that for part of their relationship he was living in his car, but I really thought that Haley would run for the hills when she found out that he was a Young. So bonus points for her staying, even if I didn't really ship it.

I liked the continuation of Rachel's family story, with the dealings from her crooked dad and her 'perfect' mother, as well as the fact that no one really tried to pretend that they were okay. They all know that they're screwed up, and they just own up to it, which was interesting to see.

I also liked the fact that both Haley and West had a bunch of problems. Like, a bunch. But they never really tried to work out their own problems before trying to fix the others', which is why I felt like they wouldn't work together. I think that they should fix their personal problems and family problems before trying to work on each others'.

Haley's family was just crazy. I liked the fact that her brother and her cousin were always willing to fight for her, even if they weren't willing to stand up for her with their words. All in all, Take Me On was pretty good, but it's not as good as some of Katie's other work.