Beastly: Alex Flinn

Ugh. I had such high hopes for this book. I really did. I've heard so many good things about the book, and have been waiting to read it for quite a while.

But now that I've finished it...I'm just kinda like

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I wasted hours on this book! So not cool.

So, I won't spend much time on it. But here were the main issues I had.

The characters were not particularly likable. Kyle was turned into a beast, because he was essentially a terrible person, and he needs to redeem himself with true love. But he never really seemed to redeem himself, he just got slightly less whiny. The whole holding Lindy against her will could have been better done. Lindy seemed just a bit melodramatic to me (but it could have been just my view).

Lindy's dad was a dick, and I'm glad that he went out of the picture. But ugh, I felt like everyone in this book needed to get over themselves. I might read one more book by this author just to see if the books get better, if the author develops the writing style. If not, I'm done with this author.

I think the main problem I had with this book was the "group chat" concept that involved all of the other cursed people. There was a lot of text talk that needed deciphering, and I know they were all teenagers so this goes without saying but they all acted like freaking teenagers! Okay, now that is out of my system, here is what I liked.

I liked the whole remade fairy tale aspect of the story. It was an interesting concept to remake from a modern perspective. Will, the blind teacher was pretty cool, I loved the sarcasm from the guy, and that he just kinda did whatever he wanted (or maybe I just really like Neil Patrick Harris playing the part, and kept imagining him for the part).

I recommend this to people who are just bored and really need something to do. But, trust me, I would read a different book before this one. Use it as an emergency backup book only.

Lover Eternal (BDB #2): J. R. Ward

I'm going to have to give this one 4.5 stars. The characters were phenomenal, and the plot thickens! And hey...



...so what's not to like?

In the second book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, we are in the minds of quite a few different people. Our lead characters, Rhage and Mary are perfect for each other. I loved the way that Mary was able to tame (literally) Rhage just by being a strong female. She didn't take any shit, from any of the brothers (I'm lookin at you Zsadist), and relied on no one to take care of her but herself. She didn't need anyone else, but let them help anyway.

Rhage cracks me up. I like the dimensional personality that we get from him. He is strong (of course, this is an alpha-male-love book) but has his weaknesses. He is known in the vampire world for his sexual prowess, and it looks like he lives up to the legend. Mary, I applaud you going multiple, multiple rounds with someone who has an orgasm for what seemed like a full five minutes...

But uh, if you ever get sick of it...you can always send him this way.

Getting to know some other characters was fun too. We got further into the mind of Butch, now living with the vampires, still having the hots for Marissa. We get to meet Bella, Mary's vampire neighbor, who has a thing for Zsadist (...again with these weird ass names! but whatevs, he is my favorite). And of course, we meet John Matthew (yay!). Now, I have read further on than this book, and if you haven't, let me tell you, John Matthew is going places. Hot, sweaty, sexy places with more muscles than girls know what to do with.

One thing I really liked about this book was the traditions of the world that the author has created. She never crosses herself when talking about the language or customs. The rythe was interesting, and I thought it was creative to tie into the story as a bonding experience not only for Mary and Rhage, but getting into the minds of the brothers as well.

The end was alright, I was happy with it, but not too happy. I'm glad the couple ends up together, but I wanted more! Oh well. It is still true love.

Overall, a really enjoyable read, a few minor annoyances, a bit on the long side, but still a book I would recommend to those of you considering it.

Dark Lover (BDB #1): J. R. Ward

After seeing this series pop up on my feed what seems to be over a hundred times, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and see what they were all about. So obviously, we've got our classic case of sexy alpha-male vampires. We've also got humans that fall in love with them, humans that turn into vampires, and evil things that the good-at-heart vamps must destroy.

And let me tell you...it was awesome.



Our female lead is Beth, daughter of a vampire, but she doesn't know it. When Wrath (our male lead who owes a friend a favor) shows up all stalker-like one night and scares the shit out of Beth, he decides to take a different approach (that is still pretty stalker-like). He pretty much just does the same thing, but does a special something to relax Beth a bit more. After a while they become a type of friends, and then they were all over each other.

The other members of the Black Dagger Brotherhood didn't seem to accept her for a while (which made me frustrated because Beth is awesome), but eventually came to see that she was a strong vampire and would stand up to Wrath when necessary. And I have to mention the names in this book. Wrath, Zsadist, Vishous, Phury, and others like that...it is weird, it has never stopped being weird, and I feel as though there were better names to select even if they were "vampire warrior names". Sorry, but not completely ok with it.

As everyone can foresee without reading the book, the two fall in love, Beth becomes a vamp, and there is hot, hot sex. Of the I-want-some variety.

But back to the story...so the Black Dagger Brotherhood members protect the entire race of vampires (which, for some unexplained reason...are all in America?). And Wrath is their leader. He is a pretty cool vamp from what I can tell. He had a backstory, had feelings (not that alpha-males ever show them though), and wanted more than just sex. Shocking! I know.

I think this is why I got so into the series, is because there is an actual plotline. It is not just sex all the time, but there is still a lot. The author has created a world riddled with tradition, characters, and a new language that we need to learn. The author never contradicted herself with the traditions, with the language, or with characters' habits. And that made the book jump from great to phenomenal.

There were many characters that were introduced in this first book, which made it a bit confusing, but that happens with any series. I'm not normally a fan of alternating view points, but this author incorporated it seamlessly into the book. The book was fairly long, but I never lost interest, it picked up from the first chapter and kept me hooked the whole time.

If you don't mind the whole super sexed out paranormal romance side of books, then I recommend this one. It was much better than I anticipated, and the ending was perfect. My only complaint is that I didn't start sooner!

The Impossible Knife of Memory: Laurie Halse Anderson

This author has done it again! I saw this book pop up at the library I work in, then again on the Goodreads Choice Awards and I couldn't understand why I had not read it. Now I wish I had read it sooner!

Anderson delivers a powerful story, narrated from the perspective of high school senior Hayley Kincain and a few flashbacks from her PTSD and depression ridden father, this book is a masterpiece. I loved the characters (even the ones I hated) and was rooting for Hayley and Finn.

I liked the reality of the situation that Hayley was in. There was no romanticizing the situation, it was tough for everyone involved, and by the end of it you just felt emotionally drained.

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But it was so worth it. I loved the emotion that this book evoked. Hayley is such a strong character, taking care of her father, trying to go to school (not really though), and then maintaining a relationship with Finn. Hayley was spunky and sarcastic and I fell in love with her. After everything she has gone through, she tries not to get too down, but it was inevitable.

I liked that the relationship between Finn and Hayley developed rather gradually, they took the time to get to know each other (in their own warped way), and just took it a day at a time. Finn was an interesting character. I loved the random conversation starters he came up with, pretending to be in different crazy roles, CIA agent, astronaut, and both Hayley and Finn just went with it. I liked their "Anti-dates" that Finn put together for Hayley.

Overall, the book was good. I don't want to say that it was a typical book, but if you have read this author before, then  it is the same as all the rest. The matter of this book was pretty heavy, but the author did a good job inserting comedic relief. The ending did leave something to be desired....it was almost too happy for what happened. Everything happened in what seemed like the last two chapters. There was so much build-up for a super-dramatic crying-my-eyes-out drinking-myself-into-oblivion ending. And then....nope. I liked the open possibility of the couple not having a happy ending, but, come on, we all acted like they lived happily ever after.

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The Sinister Urge: Frances Newton

**I was contacted by the author and asked to read this book and give an honest review**

DNF at 85%

This book just did not do it for me. I have read one other book about the topic (incest) by Tabitha Suzuma, and unfortunately, it was so well done that I am biased now on other books of the same topic.

That being said, I tip my hat to the author for taking on the subject and successfully writing a book that others have enjoyed. For some reason, I didn't like the way that the flashbacks were written. They jumped around from person to person, so it was confusing to see whose past we were looking at and from what point of view. The book did do this a bit while in the present too. I would be reading along one perspective, then suddenly read from another perspective from someone that hadn't really been properly introduced to the story.

The characters themselves were quite likable, if a bit whiny. I felt bad for the brother in the relationship, he loved his sister, and I get the feeling she didn't truly love him back.

As for the older brother. I am so confused. He acted as though it was both a big deal, not a big deal, and almost as if it was ok that his siblings were having sex! No! No, no no....not ok.


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Overall the book could be a bit better written, although I have read worse, this was a good go for a first-time author. I do need to mention the word whilst. That word was used a huge amount in the book, and it didn't help anything. People were always doing things whilst other people were doing other things. It cut up a lot of the flow of the book because of the way it was used.

I gave it two stars in hopes that the ending became better than the rest of the book, but maybe I'll try and finish it at some point. I see there is a sequel coming at some point, so I think I will wait for the preview to come out and see if I will go for it.