Moon Dance by J.R. Rain (SPOILERS)

Moon Dance by J.R. Rain
Series: Vampire for Hire #1
Source: Free Kindle book
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: August 10th 2009
Age Genre: Adult

Mother, wife, private investigator...vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.
Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn't exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

THIS REVIEW IS A RANT AND CONTAINS SPOILERS. CLICK THE "READ MORE" BUTTON ONLY IF YOU DO NOT MIND THAT. 

Tattoo Thief by Heidi Joy Tretheway

Tattoo Thief by Heidi Joy Tretheway 
Series: Tattoo Thief #1
Source: Free kindle copy
Publisher: Jasper Ridge Press
Publication Date: October 6th 2013
Age Genre: New Adult 
Challenges: TBR-Read Your Freebies
Challenges: Contemporary

22-year-old Beryl doesn't know why Gavin Slater trashed his penthouse, abandoned his dog and fled the country. But as his house sitter, she must pick up the pieces for the front man of the white-hot rock band Tattoo Thief.
When ultra-responsible Beryl confronts the reckless rock star, she wants to know more than just what to do with his mess. Why is he running? What’s he searching for? And is he responsible for the death of his muse?
New York newbie Beryl must find her footing in Gavin’s crazy world of the ultra-wealthy to discover her own direction and what can bring him back.

If Tom says so, it must be right ;)

Okay, color me shocked. I never really expected to like this book much. Maybe that's mean of me (who am I kidding? It's definitely mean of me), but I just... I was apprehensive. Still, I'm a sucker for the Rock Star x Normal Girl trope (and, if anybody knows of a book featuring this trope but opposite, please share), but it's also not a secret that I've been disappointed by some of the so called best of the lot.

Tattoo Thief tells the story of Beryl, a twenty two years old woman who feels stuck in her job, so when her late dad's best friend shows up and offers her a job in NY, she takes it. And then her roommate deal falls off, and a house sitting gig falls in her lap...

And not just any house - Gavin Slater's. Oh, c'mon. Don't pretend you don't know who that is. Just the hottest lead singer in the hottest rock band alive - Tattoo Thief. He seems to have gone through some form of meltdown, though, and Beryl might be just the person to bring him back.

Now Beryl... she's a tough one for me. I both loved her and hated her. I loved the brave, takes-shit-from-no-one kind of girl she proved herself to be in New York. I loved that she looked at houses and saw people, and that she often wanted to fix them. I liked her dynamics with Dan, Charles and Jasper (who is the most perfect doggie ever!).

I didn't like her shameless snooping. I didn't like that she went on that drive with Peter (seriously?!). And I supremely didn't like the Lulu's Clothes thing. It's a relatively small thing to be so putout by, but I couldn't suppress my distaste and disdain with the fact she was wearing a dead woman's clothes.

Now the love story... I did feel like they fall for each other a bit too fast. I mean, I loved their email chats, but every conversation kind of ended with them mad at each other, so why are you also falling in love? But they were cute. Even if there was way too little of actual Gavin.

Stella... Stella reminds me of Stella from winx club. Same type of person; self-centered, kind of boy-crazy, easily hurts her friends without noticing (and sometimes, definitely noticing and still does it). See what you did there, character? You made me draw Winx Club analogies. Shame on you!

I don't think I could've forgiven Stella if I were in Beryl's shoes... though, she clearly uncovered something earth shattering about herself to Beryl at the end there to gain her forgiveness... and I can't wait to find out what! (Sadistic of me, I know)

And the ending.. well, I feel cheated! I was reading along, my kindle telling me I still have 48 minutes in the book when BAM the end and turns out those 48 minutes are previews for the next book. Seriously?! Bad book, you fooled me!

I wanted more time with Beryl and Gavin just being Beryl and Gavin together!

 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★

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker - a Gifed Up Review

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker
Series: The Emperor's Edge #1
Source: Free Kindle Copy
(still free at the time of writing this review!)
Publisher: Indie
Publication Date: Jan 1st, 2010
Age Genre: Adult (no sex)
Check out my reading process here!

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.
Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.

You guys, let me tell you of this little hidden gem. According to Amazon, I one clicked The Emperor's Edge on September 28th, 2012. That was before I had any form of e-reader. All I had was the free PC kindle app, and a trigger happy finger for freebies because I was so stoked by the idea of getting to read a book legally for free.

'Course, I am still trigger happy for that, but I am a little more reserved - only getting books I truly think I'm going to enjoy. Thing is, I didn't do this filtering process back at 2012. And so I ended up with a TON of books that I just... left hanging. This was one of those, until I saw some very strong recommendation for this book (and series) by my friends Ellen and Sierra (you should follow them, they're totally awesome).

So, I read it. And guess what? I LOVED it! 

The best thing about this book is hands down the characters, though hell if I know how to pronounce their names!

In a militaristic empire in an unknown world, lives Amaranthe, a young female enforcer where women warriors are highly unusual. But no matter how much people may look down at her, Amaranthe knows what she wants - and it's not to be a business woman or a housewife. She's a protector, through and through. And possibly an adrenaline junkie... *shrug*
She's a stickler for details (actually, kind of verges on OCD), she's serious and.... how did Sicarius coin it?... focused. In other words,

Seriously, the girl isn't even a great warrior or anything, but she's just so badass she's Queen! And she managed to remain  female despite that! 

Then there's Sicarius - aloof, poker faced Sicarius... a deadly assassin who moves like a shadow. You never see him strike, and he is cold and emotionless. For the most part. Naturally, there's more to the ruthless killer, and anyways, my strong opinion on Sicarius could be summed pretty neatly by the following gif: 

Yep. 

As for these two together... 

Oh yeah, you guys. I ship it... I ship it bad. If you're a fan of slow-burn romances, of these couples that drive you crazy and make you shake the book and chant "just kiss!" at it, those couples you know will be just so EPIC if they would just kindly decide to smooch, get married and have beautiful children please because IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR!?.

Then you'll love this series, for sure. 

Aside for these perfect two, we've got an occasionally functional gang with tendencies toward violence that consists of a hilarious ex-heir turned male escort, a drunk professor, and a magical punk. All lovable, all added to the story, all deserving of hugs and love.

Truly, this book is just so much fun. It's epic adventure, with dire mission and high stakes, and death (though, I admit, the reason this book is not a 5 star is that I felt death was handled a bit too offhandedly) but it's has such a light comedic tone to it that makes it so readable. It doesn't depress you, like a lot of epic adventure stories do. 

I truly recommend you go get and read this one, you guys. It will literally cost you nothing!

   Nitzan★