Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Title: Nevernight
Author: Jay Kristoff
Series: The Nevernight Chronicles, #1
Format: eARC, kindly provided
by the publishers via NetGalley
(Thank you!!)
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
My rating: 1.5 / 5

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In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

*I received an eARC from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.*

In theory, Nevernight should be the book I’ve always wanted to read. If I find out assassins will be a main feature of a book – or if a main character is an assassin – you can bet I’ll be planning on reading it the minute I can get my hands on it. So when I saw what Nevernight was about you can imagine how hyped I was to read it. A school for cold hearted assassins set in a medieval Italian-type world?! YES! It has to be freaking awesome, right? Well… in practice, it’s not so simple.

I had quite a few issues with the book, but the more I think about it, they all revolved around one central issue: the writing style. Good grief, it was unbearable. Let me warn you, if you like a crisp, straight to the point writing style, you won’t find it here. On the other hand, if you like dense, overly descriptive writing styles thicker than tar, then this book could be everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Here’s the thing, though: I don’t usually have any issues with densely descriptive novels! I’m usually the one that will like books that others might find overly flowery and off-putting. Unfortunately, Nevernight was my breaking point and I couldn’t take it seriously.

I’m of the opinion that well placed metaphors and similes can add so much to the overall atmosphere and readability of a story. Okay, let me clarify: metaphors and similes that make sense add to a story. But when they’re overused or abused, I find they distract and take the focus away from the plot, characters and overall atmosphere. For my tastes, adding descriptions for the sake of adding descriptions, or describing the same thing five different ways in the one sentence feels forced and a bit pretentious. Seriously, I was expecting Nevernight to be an action packed story with lots of stabbing and murder, not a bloody thesaurus filled with incomprehensible and over written metaphors! Sometimes I hadn’t a clue what the author was even trying to say. It’s like if you’re standing at the top of a tall building and look out the window hoping to see a beautiful view, but all you can see in front of you dense fog. I know there is a story I could love here, I just couldn’t see it. Also, if I ever read the word ‘gentlefriend’ again, it’ll be too soon.

Another thing that didn’t work for me was the footnotes. I read an eARC and they appeared at the end of each chapter which meant I could choose to skip on and search out the corresponding note, or wait until I reached the end of the chapter and read them all in one go. By the third chapter, I ended up skimming over them, and by the fifth chapter I ignored them completely. Maybe if I could have read them in sync with the rest of the story I might have appreciated them more, but for my tastes, they felt unnecessary and distracting.

My opinions on the characters didn’t fare much better. I guess it would be easiest to say I was neutral toward them all. Mia, while she does have an antihero slant that I’m usually drawn to, didn’t appeal to me that much. I suspect the events that happened at the beginning of the book were supposed to instil some sort of sympathy for her, but it didn’t really work for me. Maybe it comes back to the writing/narration style, but I didn’t feel connected or sympathetic to any character in the book.

While the concept of the story is everything I look for in a book, Nevernight turned into an unexpected endurance test. I’m not too sure who I would recommend this book to specifically, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say if you enjoy the writing style, you’ll most likely adore the book. If you’re a little concerned about the flowery prose, my best advice would be to try out a few sample chapters and see whether it might suit you or not. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t enjoy Nevernight. It was one of my most anticipated 2016 releases, and I was almost positive I would love it. In practice, unfortunately, we just didn’t get along.

Review: Reap the Wind by Karen Chance

Title: Reap the Wind
Author: Karen Chance
Series: Cassandra Palmer Series, #7
Format: Paperback, bought
My rating: 2 / 5

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You’d think that being Chief Seer for the supernatural world would come with a few perks. But as Cassie Palmer has learned, being Pythia doesn’t mean you don’t have to do things the hard way. That’s why she finds herself on a rescue mission skipping through time—even though she doesn't entirely understand her dimension-bending new power.

Rescuing her friend John Pritkin should have been an in and out kind of deal, but with the near-immortal mage’s soul lost in time, Cassie has to hunt for it through the ages—with Pritkin’s demon dad in tow. He’s the only one who can reverse Pritkin’s curse, but with the guardians of the time-line dead set on stopping anyone from mucking about, Cassie will have to figure out how to get her friend back without ruffling too many feathers—or causing a world-ending paradox or two...

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

The Cassandra Palmer series is one of the few Urban Fantasy series I’ve kept up-to-date with from my pre-blogging days. It was one of the first UF series I read, and it still remains a firm favourite to this day. This is going slightly off-topic, but I find wait times between books in a series can be painful at the best of times, but when it’s a favourite series, that wait can become excruciating. Add in the fact that the sixth book in this series, Tempt the Stars, ended on yet another cliff-hanger, it was extra frustrating when I found out that Reap the Wind was set to be pushed back by an entire year. When the book finally arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago, I began reading straight away and my expectations were through the roof!

I don’t know what went wrong, exactly, but frustration was the main emotion I was left with after I finished reading. While I was reading, I kept thinking ‘was I satisfied with the things that were happening?’, and ‘was it worth the extra wait time?’ If I have to answer those questions, my answer would be no. This isn’t a small book by any stretch of the imagination, – 514 pages – yet I felt it turned into a giant recap of the previous six books in the series. It has been a long time since I read the previous books, so yes, this recap was appreciated. But, to be perfectly honest, getting a recap of the series wasn’t the reason why I wanted to read this book in the first place! Maybe if I wasn’t waiting for several dozen Cassie and Pritkin situations to be resolved, maybe this wouldn’t have bothered me so much. I hate to say this, but a part of me feels a little cheated. I expect what’s mentioned in a books synopsis to be solved – that’s its selling point, so I expect at least what’s mentioned in the synopsis to be addressed and resolved within that book. I don’t want to say any more, but I wasn’t satisfied with how little progress was actually made.

Here’s the thing: Cassie and Pritkin have been bickering and bugging the hell out of each other since the beginning of the series, and their dynamic together is AWESOME. It’s the main reason why I’ve stuck around for so long! I love it. In this book, however, there was a huge Pritkin shaped void. It was tolerable for a while, but by the half way mark, I was starting to get a bit angry with his continued absence. Also, I was starting to get tired of more and more unresolved stuff being piled on top of even more unresolved stuff . It became too much, and in honesty, and there are so many things going on I can’t keep it straight in my head anymore. What makes me really sad, though, is I’ve started not to care, and this breaks my heart. I LOVE Cassie and Pritkin, I really do, and I don’t want to be feeling this way after reading the latest instalment in the series.

Before I wrap up, I have to mention Mircea. I liked him in the first book, but by the second book I had jumped on the Pritkin bandwagon and haven’t looked back since. While I like Mircea’s character in general, I (surprisingly) found him extremely creepy in this book. There are some sexy time scenes with him, and honestly, I felt they were more unsettling rather than hot. I’m really glad Cassie FINALLY grew a pair and stood up to him – it only took seven books, but hey, better late than never, right?! Let’s hope she continues on this way in the future… but I’m not holding my breath.

I have to say, I think I went into this book expecting far too much. Reap the Wind isn’t really a bad book; it just didn’t live up to what I was expecting on any level. I guess my final thoughts come down to whether I want to continue with the series… well, erm, surprisingly yes. Yes I do! Seven books worth of investment isn’t something I’ll sacrifice on a whim, and Cassie and Pritkin mean too much to me abandon them just yet… but my patience will only last for so long. I’ll give the series one last chance, and I really, really, really hope Ride the Storm will deliver on all its promises. If it doesn’t, I’m gone.

Review: The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Title: The Guest Room
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Doubleday
Format: eARC, kindly provided
by the publishers for review.
(Thank you!!)
My rating: 2.5 - 3 / 5

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes the spellbinding tale of a party gone horribly wrong: two men lie dead in a suburban living room, two women are on the run from police, and a marriage is ripping apart at the seams.

When Kristin Chapman agrees to let her husband, Richard, host his brother’s bachelor party, she expects a certain amount of debauchery. She brings their young daughter to Manhattan for the evening, leaving her Westchester home to the men and their hired entertainment. What she does not expect is this: bacchanalian drunkenness, her husband sharing a dangerously intimate moment in the guest room, and two women stabbing and killing their Russian bodyguards before driving off into the night.

In the aftermath, Kristin and Richard’s life rapidly spirals into nightmare. The police throw them out of their home, now a crime scene, Richard’s investment banking firm puts him on indefinite leave, and Kristin is unsure if she can forgive her husband for the moment he shared with a dark-haired girl in the guest room. But the dark-haired girl, Alexandra, faces a much graver danger. In one breathless, violent night, she is free, running to escape the police who will arrest her and the gangsters who will kill her in a heartbeat. A captivating, chilling story about shame and scandal, The Guest Room is a riveting novel from one of our greatest storytellers.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

*I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.*

The Guest Room has all the ingredients for a fabulous fast-paced mystery/thriller while shedding light on sex slavery and the devastation it causes to those unfortunate enough to be caught up in its web. Instead of feeling like I read something enlightening and enthralling, I feel a bit underwhelmed and disappointed. It sucks that I feel this way, as in theory, I should love this book! It took me a lot longer than I expected to get my thoughts in order to write this review properly, and it’s mainly due to being very conflicted about how I feel about the book overall. (Just for clarity sake, this is the first book I’ve read by Chris Bohjalian, and I have next to no knowledge about any of his previous works.)

I’m not going into specifics of what happens in the story – I think the synopsis covers it perfectly. The book begins with a bang, and the first 25-30ish% was completely awesome. It was vibrant, action packed and fast paced, and I had started to think I’d found a new favourite read. Shortly after the 30% mark, though, the pacing took a severe nosedive, and my interest and connection to the story went along with it. Actually, all the issues I had stem from the middle of the book, up to about the 92% mark. Honestly, I found it dull, boring, and repetitive with the story dragging on for far too long. I understand the slower pace is needed to help build up some tension and suspense, but for me, it only caused my attention span to completely wither, and I found myself wishing for the story to hurry up and get on with the action.

The narration shifts mainly between two characters: Richard, and one of the sex slaves, Alexandra. If we were reading the book entirely from Alexandra’s POV, I could see myself rating this book a lot higher. However, the majority of the story revolves around Richard and his family woes. See, I have a problem with this. I thought this was supposed to be a thriller. Aren’t thrillers supposed to be, well, thrilling? I don’t suppose it helped that I’d branded Richard an idiot from very early on in the book, did it? I mean, he brought all of this on himself. He knew his brother was an unreliable sexist twat and that Phillip’s friends were even worse, yet he still thinks it’s a great idea to host a bachelor party in his own home. Yep, only rainbows, kittens and unicorns can come from that decision. Also, some of my disappointment could stem from my expectations going into the book. Like, you tell me a book has Russian human traffickers, and two of the sex slaves manage to escape by attacking their captors and hacking one of them to bits, right? Just based on this, my expectations are on a different level. Exploring family issues being the dominating focus of the book doesn’t really come anywhere near my thought process! For my tastes, the focus was on the wrong characters. I had zero sympathy toward Richard, so personally I wouldn’t have minded him disappearing into the background and the focus of the story being solely on Alexandra, Sonja and Crystal – the real victims in this tale.

I have to address the elephant in the room, and that’s human trafficking and sex slavery. While Alexandra’s POV helped to create a lot of sympathy within me for her cause, I feel these very important issues were brushed aside far too flippantly in favour of Richard’s family problems. While I’m sure he’s suffering for causing his marital issues, he had a choice. He made the wrong choice. Alexandra and every other girl in the story that was beaten, raped, sold, used and discarded never have one single choice. Their voices were not fully heard. And that doesn’t sit very well with me.

I’ve been hovering back and forth between a 2.5 or 3 star rating, and I really think my true feelings lie somewhere in the middle. I’m going with the full 3 stars, as I did genuinely like the first chunk of the book, and it was those moments that kept me going right to the end. Overall, yes, I did like The Guest Room, but I do feel it missed quite a few vital opportunities that left me frustrated and disappointed.

January 2016 New Book Releases

My Most Anticipated New Releases This Month

There are SO MANY books set to be released in January that I can’t wait to read, but the two I’ve picked that I’m most looking forward were released this past Tuesday. They are Truthwitch by Susan Dennard and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. Both are the first books in brand new series, and they sound so epic. I haven't had the chance to read them just yet, but I plan to change that status as soon as I can!

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – 5th January 2016

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken – 5th January 2016

More January Releases to Look Out For

5th January

Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

A Ghoul’s Guide to Love and Murder by Victoria Laurie

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

12th and 19th January

The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth – 12th

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira – 12th

Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burnes and Melinda Metz - 19th

26th January

The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Night Study by Maria V. Snyder

What new releases are you looking forward to this month? Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

Review: Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin

Title: Deadly Curiosities
Author: Gail Z. Martin
Series: Deadly Curiosities, #1
Format: eARC, kindly provided by
publishers via NetGalley
My rating: 2.5 / 5

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Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, an antique and curio shop with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up.

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: Dust to Dust by Karina Halle

Title: Dust to Dust
Author: Karina Halle
Series: Experiment in Terror, #9
Format: Kindle
My rating: 5 ++ / 5
Pages: 241

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**The dramatic conclusion to the Experiment in Terror Series.**

Perry Palomino and Dex Foray.

On their own, they’re uniquely brilliant. Together, they’re an unstoppable team.

Until now.

Because after everything the duo has encountered, they haven’t come across an evil quite like this. An evil that has been years in the making, an evil that will stop at nothing until they, and everyone they care for, are destroyed.

Dex and Perry’s love has survived a multitude of sins.

But can it survive the end?

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Well, the inevitable day has arrived: Experiment in Terror has reached its final conclusion. I love this series with all my heart, and I’m so happy it got the send of it thoroughly deserves. I won’t lie: I needed lots of tissues reading this book. Heck, I was sniffling at the dedication page, and I was sobbing my eyes out at 5%! I had a pretty good idea I’d be an emotional wreck reading this book, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

I’m not going to talk too much about what happens in Dust to Dust, as I don’t want to spoil things for anyone. It continues immediately after Ashes to Ashes ends. The full extent of the aftermath when Michael – Dex’s brother – arrived in Portland is revealed, and Dex has disappeared. Perry and her sister, Ada, along with lots of familiar faces, travel to New York City where Dex has been brought to, and this set the scene for their final showdown.

Dust to Dust wasn’t necessarily as scary as some of the previous books, but it’s much darker, gorier, and grittier and a hundred percent more twisted than any of the others. There are so many scary moments throughout the series that still stick in my mind, and yes, this book had those moments, just not as often. Dust to Dust focused more on the terrors within, and just how far both Perry and Dex are willing to go for each other. There was a completely different feel to this book, and I could sense that this was the real deal – their lives really are on the line.

Out of all the authors I’ve read, I knew Karina would have the balls to end the series… in a certain way, if you get my drift. I absolutely SOBBED at one stage. This was around 50 – 60%. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what happened then. I swear Karina has full control of my tear-ducts! I’m always an emotional mess when I read her books!

And now onto the two main reasons I love this series: Perry Palomino and Dex Foray. I’ve never connected with characters on the level I’ve connected with Perry and Dex. Ever! They are well rounded, yet tortured souls who have each other to let them see that things won’t always be made up of your worst nightmares. If someone told me this series was based on two real people, I wouldn’t be too surprised at all. They are depicted so believably and they seem REAL.

Perry Palomino: I love this girl so much. She is one of, if not THE most unique female character I’ve ever read about. To see how far she has come since Darkhouse is staggering. She started the series as a shell, with doubts about herself, very low confidence and even lower self-esteem, and watching her struggle with seeing ghosts on a daily basis with no support network was heart-breaking at times. Over the course of the series, she manages to find the one person that helps her see that it’s OK to be herself, to just be Perry Palomino. She has so many flaws and quirks in her personality, but this just makes her an even more perfect character. Her biggest asset has always been her heart, and with all she’s gone through in her life, including demonic possession, she managed to find the courage to remain open to self-discovery, love, and to Dex.

Declan “Dex” Foray: And how could I forget about Dex. Oh Dex! God, Dex was a mess! If you haven’t read the series, the less you know about him, the better. Unravelling the mystery that is Dex Foray was one of the most captivating and entertaining threads throughout the entire series. He’s a smart-ass with the best sense of sarcastic humour I’ve ever read about and has a heart of gold. At the beginning you might not like him. Heck, I think it took me at least four, maybe five books to really begin to see who he was! Looking back now, and seeing where he came from and what he endured in his life, to where he is now at the end of the series is phenomenal. If you think Javier Bernal in the Artist’s Trilogy is a complex character… he’s got nothing on Dex!

This was the ending that the Experiment in Terror series deserved. The easy route was avoided, and the book made me go through Hell – and that was quite literal for the characters, actually – on every page. I couldn’t have imagined this series ending in any other fashion other than in epicness. It was fitting; it was heart-breaking, and it was perfect.

As Karina says in the acknowledgements, not many readers know who Perry and Dex are, but I feel privileged to have followed their story, to fall for both of them, and to have loved and enjoyed every word.

I urge everyone reading this who likes anything involving ghosts and the paranormal to give the Experiment in Terror series a chance, and meet my two favourite characters of all time. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Review: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Title: Wallbanger
Author: Alice Clayton
Series: Cocktail, #1
Format: Kindle
My rating: 2 / 5
Pages: 314

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The first night after Caroline moves into her fantastic new San Francisco apartment, she realizes she's gaining an intimate knowledge of her new neighbor's nocturnal adventures. Thanks to paper-thin walls and the guy's athletic prowess, she can hear not just his bed banging against the wall but the ecstatic response of what seems (as loud night after loud night goes by) like an endless parade of women. And since Caroline is currently on a self-imposed dating hiatus, and her neighbor is clearly lethally attractive to women, she finds her fantasies keep her awake even longer than the noise. So when the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts Simon Parker, her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. The tension between them is as thick as the walls are thin, and the results just as mixed. Suddenly, Caroline is finding she may have discovered a whole new definition of neighborly...

In a delicious mix of silly and steamy, Alice Clayton dishes out a hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight...

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Wallbanger was one of those books that was absolutely everywhere I turned last year. I saw so much praise, with 4 and 5 star reviews and I thought it would automatically be such a great read. I saw it on sale recently, and I thought I’ll give it a go. Unfortunately, for me at least, it’s a case of the hype being greater than how I found the book.

It’s a fairly familiar premise. Caroline is our main character and narrator. She’s a single girl living in San Francisco. She’s been missing her O for six months since she had a one night stand with Machinegun Cory. When she moves into the vacant apartment her boss owns, she becomes obsessed with the guy living next door who frequent has very loud sex with various different girls. Since the walls are paper thin, she gets a front row seat.

What drew me to this book at first was the humour that lots of people gushed about. I downloaded a sample last year, and I thought that I’d really like the book, but I didn’t buy it immediately. It took over a year for me to get around to it actually! I will say that, yes, the book is very funny… until the funny wears off. This is so contradictory to everything I usually rave about. I love funny moments in books! But, this is the thing: I love funny moments that don’t feel like they’ve been planned. I guess what I’m trying to say is that unexpected humour appeals to me more than predicted humour.

Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with any of the characters either. The highlight of the book was Carline’s cat, Clive. All the characters are super rich, and in honesty it’s become a bit boring reading these story lines. I kind of took an instant dislike to Simon, and I didn’t see anything to help me get over that. As he’s the main male characters, this is fifty percent of the character appeal gone very quickly. Caroline didn’t fare much better. And what is with the nicknames?! Wallbanger is pretty self-explanatory once you read the book, but whenever “Pink Nightie Girl” cropped up, I cringed.

I think this is a case of timing. If I had read Wallbanger last year, around the time I read the sample on Amazon, I think I would have liked it a lot better. I personally feel I’ve read better books that deliver on all fronts, from characters, to sexy-times and overall story. I will admit there are lots of funny moments, but I need more than humour alone to make me love a book.

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

Title: Spider's Bite
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin, #1
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 3 / 5
Pages: 432

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“My name is Gin, and I kill people.”

My name is Gin Blanco. They call me the Spider—the most feared assassin in the South (and a part-time cook at the Pork Pit BBQ joint.) As a Stone elemental, I can hear the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet and feel the vibrations of the soaring mountains above me, though I don’t use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

After a ruthless Air elemental double-crossed me and killed my handler, I’m out for revenge. And I’ll exterminate anyone who gets in my way. I may look hot in a miniskirt, but I’m still one of the bad guys. Which is why I’m in trouble when irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine agrees to help. The last thing a coldhearted killer needs when she’s battling a magic more powerful than her own is a sexy distraction... especially when he wants her dead just as much as the enemy.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Spider’s Bite is the first book in the Elemental Assassin series, and in short, I did like the story. I went through an Urban Fantasy phase about five or six years ago, and I read every UF book I could get my hands on at the library. I think this is why I didn’t love Spider’s Bite: it blends in with every other UF book I’ve read. I don’t think it brought anything particularly new to the genre.

Gin is our main character and narrator, and the book gets off to an awesome start. She is an assassin for hire, and we’re thrown into the story mid-way through one of her hits. I mean, with an opening line “My name is Gin, and I kill people” I was almost positive I would adore every second. This part of the book was super-fast paced, and I was thinking that if this pace could be maintained for the entire book, I’d love it. Most plots ebb and flow, but for some strange reason, after the first third, I felt the book slowed down and it pottered along at the same pace without any changes. You know when you’re listening to someone giving a speech, and they never change their tone of voice? That’s sort of what it felt like. I wanted some emotion, or a spark, or a big surprise… something! At times I wanted to push the plot along so it would return to the fast pace at the beginning.

I really liked Gin’s characters from the outset. She is reserved, bordering on aloof. She’s a badass girl that doesn’t back down from a challenge and I really enjoyed most of the story looking through her eyes. By the end of the book unfortunately, she started to blend in with most of the other female Urban Fantasy MC’s I’ve read about. Her voice wasn’t unique enough to stand out from the crowd as much as I would have liked.

And this brings me to the overall impression I was left with: Everything was good. I don’t have any moments I hated, but on the same token, nothing made me fall in love with the book either. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad read: I have a feeling the series could be a slow burner and the next books will improve.

One of the main things that put me off from loving the book was that I couldn’t buy into the romance between Detective Donovan Caine and Gin. In most UF’s there is a romantic interest that appears at some stage during the series, it’s almost expected. I felt the attraction between these two was created out of nothing. It felt like a staged romance, there was no spark and I lost interest in both the characters and the romantic story-line whenever the book veered onto this thread. I’d end up wanting whatever chapter it appears in to be over so we can get back to the main story. I also didn’t really see the point in having the Detective as the love interest: this happens in every book! I don’t see the appeal; I find it cheapens the character as they usually end up unwilling feeding our main character with inside information.

I enjoyed the world building, and I’d love to see more of Fin’s character appearing in that book. I thought he was so much more interesting than Donovan. I ended up liking Spider’s Bite enough that I do think I will continue on with book two at some stage. I didn’t find anything in the first book that helped set it apart from others in the genre, so hopefully the next edition will do that.

Review: Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Title: Little Beach Street Bakery
Author: Jenny Colgan
Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 5 / 5
Setting: Cornwall, England

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Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their townhouse, she has to move miles away from everyone, to the sleepy little seaside resort of Polbearne, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop.

And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favourite hobby: making bread. But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better. With nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, with local honey (courtesy of local bee keeper, Huckle), and with reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes and bakes . . . And people start to hear about it.

Sometimes, bread really is life . . . And Polly is about to reclaim hers.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Little Beach Street Bakery was a little different to what I was initially expecting. Yes, the title gives a good outline of happens in the book – Polly opens a bakery – but so much more is woven into the plot as well. I think it’s safe to say the majority of us have suffered great losses with the recession, and this is one of the main themes running through the book.

Polly started a graphic design business with her partner of seven years, Chris. She knew the business was struggling since the recession and tried to do everything she could with her marketing background to keep the business afloat. Chris handled the majority of the finances, and she was unaware of the extent of the problems they were having. Her relationship with Chris suffered as a result, and they had to declare bankruptcy. The one solace that Polly had was baking: it was her stress-relief and escape.

Polly lost everything bar a few items during bankruptcy proceeding. She had no home and no job, and she couldn’t find anywhere to live in Plymouth. By chance, she stumbled across a run-down loft apartment in Polbearne - an island accessible across a tidal causeway in Cornwall – on one of her many searches that she could afford the rent. She takes a chance and moves in above an old abandoned bakers shop. The story follows Polly’s struggles to make ends meet, how she copes with leaving everything behind, and most importantly, how a new beginning doesn’t have to end in heartbreak if you try hard enough.

I loved Polly’s character. She is strong-willed, courageous and very witty, and I loved seeing the humour sprinkled throughout. Some of the locals were resistant to her when she moved in, and I know it’s probably a little cruel of me to say, but I liked that things were not all plain sailing. I loved seeing her slowly become part of the community, and manage to forge out an income following her passion which is making bread. And Neil (not Muffin, even though that would have been incredibly cute!), that little puffin, I loved him. He brought such a nice balance to everything else that was happening in Polly’s life

Huckle, Tarnie and the rest of the characters are equally likeable. I can’t find fault in any of them, I really liked them all. Everything blended so well together, and I was transported over to Cornwall and feeling all warm and fuzzy every time I was reading. There are quite a few serious threads woven into this book, but I love that the main focus in not on the negative or the heart-breaking: it’s on the bonds formed between people and how they overcome things if you get a little helping hand and support from those around you. The sense of community was so strong and I loved it.

This is my second Jenny Colgan book, and I’m becoming a really big fan. I love her writing style, and how she blends the characters and world-building so seamlessly. It grips you right from the first couple of pages and makes you want to keep reading and getting to know the characters and how they are progressing. This is exactly what I love seeing in a book, and Colgan does this effortlessly. I can’t recommend her books enough. I loved it!

Review: Forgiven by Carly Fall

Title: Forgiven
Author: Carly Fall
Series: Angels of Affection, #2
Format: eBook, received for review
My rating: 3.5 / 5
Setting: Lake Tahoe, CA

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The next assignment for Angels of Affection, Liam and Adela, takes them to snowy Lake Tahoe, California. As they search for the next people they are to help fall in love, they are told they will be receiving some assistance from a third angel.

As she watches an argument between a man and woman in the cabin across the way, Adela believes she has found their next mission. As Liam and Adela work to bring the couple back together, a series of dramatic events tears the angels apart, and sends Liam to Eternity—a place with no beginning and no end.

As Liam’s past and present collide and Adela struggles on Earth with the fallout from the events, it becomes very apparent that things aren’t always what they seem, and sometimes an angel needs to realize the answers are right in front of him.

My Thoughts

Forgiven is the second book in the Angels of Affection series and it continues on from where Betrayed leaves off. I liked this book a lot more than Betrayed. I do have a few things that bothered me, and that prevented me from rating it higher, but by the end I did like it. I’m not going to write a summary as I think you need to go into this book with as little knowledge as possible to enjoy it fully.

The book started out on shaky ground for me. We get quite a detailed summary of things that happened in the first book, and this would be extremely beneficial if you have a gap between reading both books. The down side to this is if you’ve read the first book recently or are reading both back-to-back, everything is already familiar.

I’ve said this several times, both in reviews and elsewhere: I really don’t like repetitiveness in my books, more specifically back-tracking. Unfortunately, for my tastes, the writing style is a bit too prone to back-tracking and it gets under my skin all too often. I find myself rolling my eyes and thinking, “Yeah, I already know this!”

Just after the half-way point, I really began liking the story. Things progressed a lot quicker in Forgiven, and it was a welcome change of pace. The ground work was taken care of in Betrayed, and we could move forward with the story. Part of me feels if both books were incorporated into one, I might have enjoyed it better – minus the back-tracking ;)

When Gunnar appeared in the novel, I was dreading a love-triangle forming. That really would have been a big negative, and thankfully, it did not occur. This book focused on Liam and Adela and establishing them as characters, and exploring their feelings that have built since the first book. I liked the way this progressed and how it was handled. It felt like a natural progression which is a big plus. I liked both Liam and Adela a lot more that I had previously, and I feel we actually got to see them a bit clearer as they are now, without having to establish a background.

Out of the two books in the series, I prefer Forgiven. Both the main and supporting characters appealed to me more, and the story flowed a lot better. It was easy to see what was going to happen, so there weren’t any real surprises, but I did enjoy what happened and the ending suited the story. I will be honest; my hang up with both books is the writing style. It’s not really my cuppa, but if you have read the authors other books and liked them, I think you’ll love this series also.

Review: Betrayed by Carly Fall

Title: Betrayed
Author: Carly Fall
Series: Angels of Affection, #1
Format: eBook, Received for review.
My rating: 3 / 5

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After police officer Jeff Waters’ wife leaves him, a darkness descends over him, causing anger and hate to to rage within. His self-control is tested both on and off the job, putting his life, as well as the lives of others, in jeopardy.

Liam and Adela, two former Angels of Death, have been reluctantly transformed into Angels of Affection – those angels who help humans fall in love – to assist in the war against the hate taking over Earth and the self-destructive nature of humans.

Their first assignment: helping Jeff Waters find love and saving him from the darkness threatening to overtake him.

-- As seen on Goodreads

* I received this book from the author via Rabid PR in exchange for an honest opinion and review. Thank you for considering me! *

Betrayed follows the story of two Angels of Death who are partnered together and re-assigned as Angels of Affection to help bring more love into the world. I went into the book thinking along the lines of the Grim Reaper being changed into Cupid. It’s not exactly like that, but the essence is kind of the same.

The story starts off following an Australian guy, Adam, when he was human and we witness his death and transformation into an Angel of Death. As he was pretty much a man-whore in life, he has to atone for his transgressions before he can take his place in the Fringe, the outer circle of heaven, for eternity. There are three levels to the Angel hierarchy; Angels of Innocence, Tolerance and Sin. Adam is cast as an Angel of Tolerance, delivering recently departed souls to the Fringe.

Hate is slowly taking over the human world, and the creator decides to step in. The decision is made to re-assign some of the Angels into Angels of Affection to help counter the spread of hate with love. Liam is one of those chosen and he is partnered with Adela, an Angel of Tolerance he met early on in his afterlife.

I liked the book. Did it blow me away? Not really. Was it entertaining? It kind of was! There were some things I liked about it, and quite a bit I was a little unsure of. There isn’t anything really unexpected. I didn’t find anything mind-blowingly unique, but it was a nice interpretation of angels in general. It leans more toward the traditional thinking on angels, and combining the Angels of Death with the role and duties of the Grim Reaper.

I mainly use my feelings, emotions and my reactions to rate books, in particular the characters. The more I feel for the characters, the more I connect. The more I connect, the more I like the book, and it accumulates on from there. If I feel what they feel, and I react – positive or negative, doesn’t matter – as long as I feel, I’m happy.

I liked the characters, but I didn’t really feel anything toward them. It’s the brain versus the heart thing – my brain says I like them, but my heart feels nothing. How can I make up my mind whether I genuinely like the characters when I feel neutral at this stage?

I have a few gripes with the style of writing. I dislike constant repetitiveness. Throughout the story, we are informed of the same things quite often, and it’s unnecessary and a little annoying. Also for my tastes, there was a bit too much internal monologue. We have entire chapters where the character is backtracking over what happened to them in their past internally. I love detail and a good backstory, and there is plenty of it in Betrayed, but in the end it became a bit too much. Some knowledge is wonderful and great to receive, but there is a fine line before it becomes annoying when you read the same thing worded differently three or four times.

I feel like I’m only focusing on the negative! I liked the story overall, I really did. I was entertained, but I have to be honest about the things that didn’t work for me too. I liked that we weren’t plunged straight into the story. We were given the chance to get to know the history of characters, in particular Liam, before he became an angel, and the build-up before both he and Adela became Angels of Affection.

The ending was a little abrupt. It took a long time to reach the conclusion, and once we reached it, poof, it was over. Everything is wrapped up from this story, there is nothing left hanging. The final few chapters are geared toward a sequel, so you know the characters will be back to continue the series. I’m looking forward to reading Forgiven, and hopefully I’ll get to know Liam and Adela a bit more, and make up my mind on them as characters.

Review: Donners of the Dead by Karina Halle

Title: Donners of the Dead
Author: Karina Halle
Series: Standalone
Format: eBook, owned
My rating: 4 / 5

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***A Standalone Horror Romance***

A note about this book: Donners of the Dead is set in 1851 – couples were often thrust into marriage together with short courtships, racism was widespread and not overly frowned upon, and women had little to no rights. What wouldn't fly in today's day and age was unfortunately the norm back then - it is worth keeping that in mind when reading this book.

Jake McGraw was unlike anyone I’d ever known. He was brash, rude, unapologetic and arrogant; chauvinistic, close-minded, and terribly stubborn. He was built like a tree, tall with a hard chest and wide shoulders and hands that looked like they could wrestle a bear. He was a cigar-chomping, scruffy-faced, beast of a man. I was pretty sure I hated him. And I know he hated me. But among the flesh-eating monsters in these snow-capped mountains, he was the only thing keeping me alive

The year is 1851 and pioneers in search of California gold are still afraid to travel on the same route as the tragic Donner party did years before. When the last wagon train to go into the Sierra Nevada mountains fails to arrive at their destination, Eve Smith, an 18-year old half-native girl with immense tracking skills is brought along with the search party, headed by an enigmatic former Texas Ranger, Jake McGraw.

What they find deep in the dangerous snow-covered terrain is a terrifying consequence of cannibalism, giving new meaning to the term “monster.” While the search party is slowly picked off, one by one, Eve must learn to trust Jake, who harbors more than a few secrets of his own, in order to survive and prevent the monstrosities from reaching civilization.

***This is NOT New Adult***

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

"There are only monsters inside of angels and angels inside of monsters. Choose wisely.”

In each book Karina Halle writes, in particular her horror novels, there are usually a couple of scenes that are etched into your brain and will refuse to leave long after you finish the book, and Donners of the Dead is no exception. It takes her usual level of horror and adds zombies and stomach-churning cannibalism in all its gory glory.

This book chilled me to the bone, and I think it’s some of her most terrifying writing yet. I love when an author takes a topic and completely runs with it and doesn’t hold back on anything.

Eve Smith is our narrator for this terrifying read. She is a half-native American, half-white young woman of eighteen, who has been entrusted into the care of her Aunt and Uncle after the disappearance of her father, and the mental breakdown of her mother. In a time when women were barely tolerated, let alone a woman who is deemed a “half-breed”, she has to deal with the horrendous injustices of racism and sexism on a daily basis. This really stuck out in my mind: she isn’t allowed to attend school, and this hurts her deeply as her cousin, who has little interest in gaining knowledge, attends daily.

I felt a sharp pang of envy in my chest, something I often felt when I thought about my cousin. It wasn’t that she was beautiful and polite, but that she was able to go to school every day and I never was.
[…]
All I’d ever wanted to do was learn, to fill my mind with knowledge and wisdom, while Rose seemed to abhor everything about learning, except when it came to the piano.

I think her struggles were portrayed really well, and nothing was sugar coated. I like that the romanticism and idealism that often hangs over historically set novels isn’t showing its ugly head. Life could suck back then, especially if you were a woman. A maybe-negative: The dialogue is a bit on the modern side. This could potentially irritate some, but it worked for me personally as I don’t enjoy Ye Olden Speech – unless it’s Pride and Prejudice, then I’m all mushy.

Jake McGraw's character starts off, in short, as an arrogant, chauvinistic asshole, yet with the way he is portrayed as the story progresses, you could see that there is a lot more to him that what firsts meets the eye. I liked the romantic element that was woven into the horror, but it never overshadowed the story, just enhanced it.

"We’re still human even in the face of beasts, even with our lives at risk. When you’re close to death, love is sometimes the only thing that makes sense in life.”

Karina is champion of balancing all the different elements and plotlines within her stories. Everything happens at the right moment, it flows naturally and nothing if forced upon us. The epilogue was written exactly how I prefer epilogues to be written. It wasn’t drawn out and didn’t introduce unnecessary twists, keeping in line with what was naturally progressing with the characters’ lives at the books end.

I gave this book a four star rating, even though I do think it could deserve a lot more. This is purely because Karina is competing with her other books in my mind. Did I think Jake and Eve’s story matched or exceeded Dex and Perry’s from the Experiment in Terror series, or Camden and Ellie’s story in the Artists Trilogy? To me, it didn’t. I gave both of these a five star rating, so I feel to keep my ratings a little bit consistent, a four star rating more accurately describes my overall feelings toward the characters, and therefore, the book.

Review: Ashes to Ashes by Karina Halle

Title: Ashes to Ashes
Author: Karina Halle
Series: Experiment in Terror, #8
Format: Kindle
My rating: 5+ / 5

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It’s been two months since Perry Palomino and Dex Foray’s relationship reached a new turning point, two months since Perry started a new life in Seattle, and two months since their Experiment in Terror show took on a new partner, ex-Wine Babe Rebecca Sims, and found a new level of success. But whenever there is light in their lives, the madness still has a way of coming back in.

When the team is sent back to the stormy Oregon coast to investigate a haunted school, Perry wants to use the opportunity to reconnect with her family and reintroduce Dex into their lives. Only Perry’s not the only one who’s reaching out – her grandmother Pippa has started appearing to her with disturbing warnings and Perry’s presence at the school has ignited a chilling new wave of supernatural phenomenon. Once used a century ago as a sanatorium to house children dying of tuberculosis, the school’s past residents are slowly coming back to life and with one thing on their mind. They want someone to play with, someone to join them. Forever.

Even when dead, some children get whatever they want.

And they want Perry.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

“To the thing that hurts you most. To the paranormal and to never being normal.”

-- Perry Palomino, Ashes to Ashes, by Karina Halle

I can always count on Karina Halle to write a fantastic book. I LOVED Ashes to Ashes. I didn’t think Dead Sky Morning, Lying Season, and On Demon Wings could be topped for scariness, but I think this book managed it. It certainly matches my favourites in the series. The only thing that sucked was waiting until February to read it.

Come Alive was written in Dex’s POV, and while I love Dex and seeing inside his head – which was just as fucked up as I was expecting by the way – I prefer the series when Perry is the narrator. I love the humour, horror, ghosts, and the romance. It’s blended so well together it just… works. Ashes to Ashes continues on two months after Come Alive ends, brings Perry and Dex full circle, and they go back to where it all began: The Oregon Coast.

I was hooked right from the beginning and on the edge on my seat throughout. Over the course of the eight books and the novella’s, I’ve become so invested in both Perry and Dex, and they are easily in my top five favourite characters ever list, both individually and together as a couple. I love how much Dex in particular has grown since Darkhouse. Plus, we get to see a different side to him: Sexy Dexy has become quite the romantic! Without giving spoilers away, anyone who has read the book will know of a certain scene in the postman’s cottage… around the 90% mark… *sigh* I actually cried. It’s so sweet and mushy, and I don’t usually like mushy! If you never loved Dex before, you will fall for him in this book. Or like me, fall for him again. *Sigh* I’m in total fangirl mode now!

On a more serious note, there is a melancholy vibe to Ashes to Ashes: you can really sense the end is nigh. I’m going to be in pieces when the last book is released. I can’t wait to read Dust to Dust – WTF, that ending?! – But I also don’t want to read the last ever EIT book… *sniffle*

Review: Move the Sun, by Susan Fanetti

Title: Move the Sun
Author: Susan Fanetti
Series: Signal Bend, #1
Format: Kindle
My rating: 4 / 5

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Lilli Accardo moves to the dying town of Signal Bend, Missouri, where the citizens have made a devil’s bargain to stay afloat. Lilli quickly garners the attention of the whole town, particularly Isaac Lunden, President of the Night Horde Motorcycle Club and de facto protector of the town and its citizens.

When it turns out that Lilli is there under murky circumstances, Isaac decides to get close and try to figure out what she’s hiding. Their chemistry is instantaneous and electric, but each is a potential danger to the other.

Action, sex, and drama ensue as Isaac and Lilli try to navigate the rocky terrain between trust and threat.

Note: explicit sex and violence.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

I’m really surprised! I downloaded Move the Sun as a kindle freebie a couple of months ago and didn’t think of it again. I confess, the reason I read it now was because of the sun on the cover – I needed it for a reading challenge I’m taking part in! I’m so glad I tried it.

I have read a couple of Motorcycle Club themed books before, with little success. They were just very bleh. Starting this book, I was expecting more of the same: no real plot, no absorbing story, cut out biker stereotype characters, with lots of sex and not much else. This on the other hand, was so good! I loved that there was a story outside of the main characters relationship that captures your interest and leaves you guessing and wanting to find out what will happen next.

I think the less you know about the storyline, the more you will enjoy the book as a whole. I only glanced at the blurb before starting, so the vast majority of the book was a surprise to me. I liked the way the flashbacks were timed appropriately, giving just enough information when it was needed, without bogging or slowing down the story unnecessarily.

The story is told in the third person, alternating focus between Isaac and Lilli. I think it suited the book perfectly. It gave us a broader picture of the storyline, told from two strong characters perspectives. I really liked Lilli. She is bad-ass without compromising her femininity. She is ex-army, and is just an all-round awesome and likeable character. Isaac is a good character, but I found Lilli’s character to be the more believable of the two, and this overshadowed him slightly. They work really well together though, and you root for them both.

I really enjoyed the writing style. It captured and held my attention right from the beginning. I could be a real bitch and start point out some little mistakes here and there – missing words, the flow of some sentences could be improved – but forget it! I didn’t care! As long as I connect with the characters and the story, I can overlook all that. It wasn’t so extensive that it detracts from the story.

The ending wraps up this portion of the series nicely, while providing just enough information to let you know the story isn’t over. It gets you interested in continuing on with the next book. Loved it!